Ariana Grande Shares Behind-the-Scenes Look at New Short Film

Pop superstar Ariana Grande is giving fans a deeper look into the creative process behind her cinematic short film, Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead.

The short film, which arrived alongside the expanded edition of her latest album, Eternal Sunshine, is a sci-fi-tinged exploration of memory, nostalgia, and emotional healing. In the new behind-the-scenes clip, Grande opens up about the concept behind the project, describing it as “basically about how when we’re young, sometimes we want to erase certain things… but when we grow older, we would do anything to relive those moments.”

Grande, who reprises her role as Peaches from the We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love) music video, plays a future version of the character visiting the fictional Brighter Days clinic to relive memories from her past. The footage shows her transformed with special effects makeup into an elderly version of herself, watching moments from her life – performing for fans, spending time with family, revisiting emotional scars, and even being abducted by aliens.

“These memories – even the painful ones – have shaped who I am,” Grande says in the video. “This has always been the thing that helps me heal, along with therapy, self-care, and setting boundaries. Music always puts me back together.”

The behind-the-scenes video also highlights Ariana Grande‘s close collaboration with co-director Christian Breslauer, whom she praises as her “favourite director,” and offers a tour of the house set used in the film. Fans also get a peek at the practical effects behind the UFO abduction scene, which involved hoisting the singer into the air with wires.

One standout moment in the featurette includes a sequence where Grande’s character is brought back to life by a mad scientist injecting her with musical soundwaves — played by none other than her real-life father, Ed Butera.

“My dad played the part of this mad doctor-scientist so beautifully,” Grande says in the clip. “The same thing that has made my life complicated in certain ways is also the same thing that heals me time and time again, and that is music.”

“This album means so much to me,” Grande says, sitting on set. “It’s my favourite album, and these are my favourite videos. So yeah, we’re going to overdo it.”