After seeing my film, “Drink Deep”, which revolved around rural swimming holes, R.E.M. asked me to make the video for “Nightswimming.” We wanted to make something erotic that broke away from the crass formulas of MTV - to offer different kinds of bodies, male and female, and to extend the liberating possibilities of “skinnydipping” to people altogether outside of the predictable demographic. Later, when the band was collecting pieces for a home video release, I asked if I could expand the project into more of an independent film, and to include a section that would retain the spirit of the piece, but without music. (It was always my intention to pull "music videos" as far away from being commercial promos as possible). Jem Cohen