The award-winning French director - who has joined the roster at FRIEND - on success at the Berlinale, shooting her KUKII promo in Cairo and approaching music videos as experiments in filmmaking.

A French-Chilean director based in Paris, Tohé Commaret has found acclaim in short films and music videos that seamlessly fuse elements of documentary and fantasy in a distinctive, signature style. With her short films 8 and Because of (U), Commaret blends the mundane and the hallucinatory, and raw emotion meets sensory exploration. Her work has been featured in international festivals and galleries, including the Berlinale.

Towards the end of last year she brought her vision into the realm of music video, with promos for Egyptian/Iranian artist Kukii and French singer Oklou's collab with Swedish rapper Bladee. Her own gallery show has just opened (Feb 17th) at the Foundation Pernod Ricard in Paris.   

"We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Tohé to the FRIEND roster," says Luke Jacobs, the company's MD. "Her unique ability to blend the real and the fantastical aligns perfectly with the bold, innovative projects we’re passionate about."

And we were delighted to find out more about Tohé, via the Snapshot Q&A... 

Name: Tohé Commaret

Birthday: 23/07/1992

Where did you grow up? Vitry-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris

Place of further education and course (if any)? Beaux-Arts Paris and Le Fresnoy

Where do you live now? Paris

We should consider music videos more as artistic objects and experiments by the artist.

Name a film or video or other creative work that had a huge influence on your career choice? The work of David Lynch, Alice Rohrwacher, Luis Buñuel, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul is very important to me.

What were the important first projects for you, in terms of a learning experience and getting noticed, or a foothold in the industry? I think it was when my film 8 was taken to the Berlinale and won multiple awards.

Above: still from Tohé's award-winning short film '8'

Best film(s) you saw last year? The Human Surge, directed by Eduardo Williams.

Favourite song/album/music artist in the past year? Trip9love - Tirzah, DJ Kit

Favourite music video/videos in the past year? Husky - Necro (World Of Flies, God Of War), directed by Ataka 51.

What was (or usually is) your favourite night out last year? HeartBroken- Sacho at Petit Bain

In terms of the music video-related jobs of the past year or so, what were the most rewarding creatively, and why?

I loved doing KUKII's Rare Baby video in Cairo, Egypt. I discovered an incredibly rich country and culture, and the architecture made me feel like I was in a science fiction movie at every turn. The sounds and colours of this place also inspired me a lot, everything is very dense and rich.

And then working with Oklou and Bladee [on the Take Me By The Hand video] was very easy. I’m incredibly grateful because I was given almost total creative freedom.

Post-production was a huge part of the process. We were basically like teenagers, glued to our screens 24/7, eating in front of our computers to deliver everything on time and at the highest quality. The entire team - editing, color grading, VFX, and even the cinematographer - was deeply involved, which created a real sense of fusion and intensity between us. We spent a lot of time searching for the right shapes and forms."

What are your favourite other (non-mv) projects of the past year or so? Organizing a collective nap and listening session with my friends.

What’s the most surprising thing that’s happened last year? Kali Malone concert in a church

Your top suggestion to change and improve how the music video industry works? Consider music videos more as artistic objects and experiments by the artist, rather than just advertisements made quickly and without thought.

What are you looking forward to for 2025? Making a feature film.

• Tohé Commaret is based at FRIEND in London for UK representation; contact Lee Fairweather at Leethal Reppin for music video enquiries, and info@friendlondon.com.