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Director

Ali Kurr

Frequent Rina Sawayama collaborator - and recent guest on The Promonews Podcast - Ali Kurr directs a grunge-inspired promo for Hurricanes.&nbsp;Exuding early Noughties pop-rock nostalgia, the video is a riotous, windswept tour de force,&nbsp;with Rina at the eye of the storm - an&nbsp;impressive&nbsp;climax to a hugely absorbing, refined trilogy of videos, which as with its predecessors This Hell and Hold The Girl features splendid cinematography by DoP Diego Rosenblatt.&nbsp;Kurr discussed her fruitful collaboration with Rina Sawayama on <a href="http://open.spotify.com/episode/7fPId2zp9XYEb6jsYg8ZyF" target="_blank">the latest episode of The Promonews Podcast</a>. And Hurricanes will leave viewers breathless and excited for the next step in both the artist and director's respective journeys.&nbsp;&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;"For this video, Rina wanted a band performance moment with a trickle of a narrative running through it," Ali Kurr explains. "Leaning on an Alanis Morrisette, grunge aesthetic, we open on an exhausted Ri who assembles with her bandmates in a vaulted barn as a wicked storm descends."Although this video has a different feel to it than our previous films for Rina’s latest album, I wanted to make sure Hurricanes&nbsp;sat in the same world. So we made sure to shoot on the same lenses and even used the same location as Hold The Girl."

United Kingdom

Lyubika Georgieva

Joshus Gochez

Angie Broomfield

Chris Aliano

Jordan Kelsey

Mayling Wong

Lyubo Yonchev (four Elements)

Partizan Darkroom

Tom Connick

Manol Mitrev

Diego Rosenblatt

Mayling Wong - Partizan

Rosen Savkov (four Elements)

Ayo Alli

Samuil Djoganov (four Elements)

Diko Buchukov

Nikolay Kerezov

Mario Popov

Dimitar Donchev

Antoni Stoev

Todor Soviv

Mona Leanne

Jack Williams

Assembly Rooms

Myles Bevan

Timebased Arts

Dirty Hit

Rina Sawayama 'Hurricanes' by Ali Kurr

Rina-Sawayama-'Hurricanes-'-by-Ali-Kurr

A&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fPId2zp9XYEb6jsYg8ZyF?si=eac169c5d6d94065&amp;nd=1" target="_blank">new episode of&nbsp;The Promonews Podcast</a>&nbsp;is out today, featuring a director currently making a big impact in British music videos and beyond -&nbsp;Ali Kurr.Ali is a director with&nbsp;a track record of making outstanding videos for up-and-coming British female artists - including Poppy Adjudha and Bree Runway - and she has developed a longstanding working relationship with&nbsp;Rina Sawayama, from her days as an unsigned artist to her current status vying for superstardom.&nbsp;For Sawayama's third album they have collaborated on her most high-profile and ambitious music videos so far, and we talk to Ali about the making of those videos, for This Hell and Hold The Girl. The director - based at Partizan and Darkroom -&nbsp;also talks candidly about what she has learned over ten years of making videos, her rules on working with new artists, on winning pitches, not having a definable directing style - and her experience making a porn film.&nbsp;<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="232" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/7fPId2zp9XYEb6jsYg8ZyF?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius:12px" width="100%"></iframe>This is the latest episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7xlA6GsQtJfhtUsxNYiFYz" target="_blank">The Promonews Podcast: Talking Music Videos</a>, sponsored by&nbsp;<a href="https://looptalent.co.uk/" target="_blank">Loop Talent</a>. The past year has seen the Podcast interview a range of creatives who are active making music videos right now. These include directors such as KC Locke, Milo Blake, Olivia Rose, Fred Rowson, Nathan James Tettey, Sophia Ray, Salomon Ligthelm, Kasper Häggström,&nbsp;Lucrecia Taormina, and Louis Bhose.Other recent interviewees include DoP Rick Joaquim, director's rep Sam Davey, director Sam Brown talking about working with Adele, and Andy Morahan discussing his wild times with Guns 'n Roses, on the 30th anniversary of his video for November Rain, and in the last episode, Aoife McArdle discussing her path from music video director to director and producer on Apple TV+'s Severance.&nbsp;Other interviewees include RUFFMERCY, Mayling Wong,&nbsp;Rik Burnell, Regina Meessen, Lee Fairweather, Adam Singodia and Vlad Barin.• Listen to&nbsp;The Promonews Podcast&nbsp;with Ali Kurr on&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fPId2zp9XYEb6jsYg8ZyF?si=eac169c5d6d94065&amp;nd=1" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and other platforms.

Mouthpiece

The Promonews Podcast: new episode with Ali Kurr out now!

Ali Kurr and Rina Sawayama are back together for another high-concept promo - a cinematic sci-fi drama with a twist, for Hold The Girl.This has Rina on a Westworld-type world - on a ranch in the Old Wild West. And her repeated attempts to escape the place are blocked by an unseen, magnetic force - she is caught mid-air after falling from the roof, or pulled 50 metres across the scorched grass - and brought back to her starting point in the house.&nbsp;But when the walls start to crack and the earth moves, she discovers an alternate universe: herself, dancing in a high-energy studio setup with fellow dancers, celebrating an unabashed freedom. This&nbsp;Dogville-style studio set-up eventually fuses with the strange period world, and Rina breaks free. But there is one more twist in the tale.[imgtoken data:1]Filmed in Bulgaria, shot by Diego Rosenblatt, and with choreography by Josh Pillmore, the video is the latest and arguably the most successful example of a superbly creative collaboration between the artist and director, which has always tested boundaries. Once again they have gone for something new, and leave the viewer marvelling at Sawayama's virtuosity."It was all about capturing the feeling of having the strength to leave a situation and then when that initial adrenaline rush leaves you," says Kurr. "All you are left with is the memory that can often leave you feeling even more alone."&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]This is the latest in a collaboration that goes back to the start of both Kurr and Sawayama's&nbsp;careers. "We've been making videos together for over a decade now," reveals the director. "I constantly pinch myself on set when I think about how far we have come. From making videos in our flats with £50 art budgets to now getting to play with zip lines and stunt coordinators... we push ourselves each time to make something that's even more exciting and unexpected for her fans."This follows the acclaimed video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/06/23/rina-sawayama-hell-ali-kurr/76973" target="_blank">This Hell</a>, the first video released from the forthcoming Sawayama album, also called Hold The Girl. Kurr adds:&nbsp;"This drive and love for what we create, alongside her insane artistry as a musician, has resulted in Hold The Girl&nbsp;being one of my favourites to date and I can't wait to get back on set and start shooting something nuts again soon."

Victoria Yaneva

Shola B Riley

Joshua Gochez

Grozdan Mihaylov

Plan B

Lyubo Yonchev

Four Elements, Bulgaria

Will Frost

Rosen Savkov

Samuil Djoganov

Igor

Joshua Pilmore

Todor Sivov

Greta Stefanova-Kandzhova

Maria Koleva

Krasimira Petrova

Myles Bevan 

Time Based Arts

Natali Borte

B.art Vfx Studio

Rina Sawayama 'Hold The Girl' by Ali Kurr

Rina-Sawayama--'Hold-The-Girl-'-by-Ali-Kurr

Ali Kurr reunites with Rina Sawayama to create a country, queer, celebratory, sizzling hoedown&nbsp;for This Hell.Marking the launch of Rina's new album Hold The Girl, Kurr's&nbsp;video for This Hell marries punchy line-dancing, exquisite styling and mesmerising cinematography, to create an immediately iconic visual that celebrates the 'eternal damnation' of the LGBTQIA+ community.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;Shot in Bulgaria - with production by Four Elements - the concept focuses on Rina marrying her two lovers, whilst pesky protestors try their best to break up the celebration.None of this phases the group, as they party the night away under neon lights, setting the wedding cake on fire, drinking shots and performing one of the most unique first dance numbers ever put on-screen. It all makes Hell look&nbsp;like the place to be.

Vicky Yaneva

Shanice Burton

Callum Sterling

Summer Jay Jones

Jordan Kesley

Ayomide Alli

Peter Kostov

Hristo Genkov

Eduard Muskalenko

Genadi Ivanov

Simeon Kirov

Joshus Pilmore

Grozdan Mihalov

Gregg Lennon

Gergana Ivanova

Immerse Fx

Chester Lockhart

Rina Sawayama 'This Hell' by Ali Kurr

Rina-Sawayama-'This-Hell-'-by-Ali-Kurr

Ali Kurr visualises a sexy Nineties fever dream in her video for Bree Runway's Little Nokia.&nbsp;With the song name-checking&nbsp;one of the most iconic - and indestructable - phones ever on the market, the promo sees Runway being interrupted by a&nbsp;Nokia 3310 every time she tries to get intimate with her man.&nbsp;Cutting to a grungy garage, a spiked mohican-sporting Bree hangs from the roof, before mounting a mechanical bull, artfully refashioned to&nbsp;resemble a giant Nokia. It's a feast of nostalgia with an edgy and dark undertone, and the reference to 1983 body horror Videodrome in the final scene is a perfect way to polish off the concept.&nbsp;Strikingly shot by DoP&nbsp;Amelia Hazlerigg, the aesthetic is perfectly balanced between commercial and quirky, with just a touch of creepy to keep viewers on their toes.&nbsp;“For this video I wanted to pay homage to the MTV greats," says Kurr, "But blend and package them together so it feels totally fresh and unique.” Job done.

Partizan

Charlie Scannell

Jack Meredith

Amelia Hazlerigg

Richard Savage

Asia Rose Killgallon

Jonny Boomer

Liz El-kadhi

Holly Berry

Seraia

Paige Cole

Matt Nee

Metal Edit

Jonny Thorpe

Glasssworks

B.art

Claire Stubbs @ Mouthpiece

Anique Cox

Hip Hop

Contemporary R&B

Bree Runway 'Little Nokia' by Ali Kurr

Bree-Runway-'Little-Nokia'-by-Ali-Kurr

Rina Sawayama and Ali Kurr's previous videos, for STFU!&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/04/30/rina-sawayama-xs-ali-kurr/64485" target="_blank">XS</a>&nbsp;have shown an artist capable of taking on vibrant, madcap personas. The video for Bad Friend is another case entirely, and just as intriguing: Rina becomes a character in an old Japanese movie - a young male salaryman, who's heart has just been broken.Taking their seat in a dive bar,&nbsp;Sawayama's character stares at a wedding ring in a mist of cigarette smoke. It's been a bad day, and it's time to drink away all the emotions.&nbsp;Then they are suddenly interrupted by another older customer, who insists the sad salaryman accept his offer to drink whisky with him.Then things take their course, as they do in bars. Misery turns to drunken jollity - but then things turn surprisingly nasty. Things degenerate into a believably messy bar brawl, to the horror of the&nbsp;few other inhabitants of the bar. But that's not quite the end of the story...From the intriguing setting - and&nbsp;DoP&nbsp;Amelia Hazlerigg gives this a real film noir flair that elevates the dramatic mood from the start - it is a wonderfully well-constructed and performed narrative that makes this arguably Sawayama and Kurr's&nbsp;most satisfying collaboration yet.

Joe Browne

Lea Aubigne

Sal Gomez-lopez

Liz El Kadhi

Celia Arias

Jake Gallagher

Natasha Lawes

Metal

Glassworks

Leon Sua

Rina Sawayama 'Bad Friend' by Ali Kurr

Rina-Sawayama-'Bad-Friend-'-by-Ali-Kurr

Rina&nbsp;Sawayama laments materialism in the time of global warming, in Ali Kurr's tongue-in-cheek video for XS.&nbsp;Described&nbsp;by Sawayama as a "kind of a mockery of everyone, including myself", the visual portrays&nbsp;her as a bubbly&nbsp;QVC-like salesperson, hawking a shimmering beverage that’s 99% 24k gold and 1%… plasma?&nbsp;As the clip plays out, it’s revealed that the shopping channel host isn’t what she appears, and the source of the drink’s “new improved recipe” is a macabre Soylent Green nightmare.Part-Stepford Wives, part-Alien vs Predator, and all-round brilliant, the video is as&nbsp;exciting and unabashed as the track, which repeatedly circles from Pop to R&amp;B and thrash metal&nbsp;in its four-minute runtime.Liz El Kadhi's art direction is a real highlight, utilising vibrant colours and props to offset the spooky undercurrent, paired with&nbsp;Celia Arias' slick styling, in Ali Kurr's second collaboration with Sawayama, following the equally vibrant video for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2019/11/26/rina-sawayama-stfu-ali-kurr-now-signed-darkroom/62096" target="_blank">STFU!</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

Ana Takashi

Bart VFX

Alternative

Rina Sawayama 'XS' by Ali Kurr

Rina-Sawayama--'Xs'-by-Ali-Kurr

Ali Kurr's new video for Rina Sawayama tackles a serious subject with verve, wit and lots of visual style - and it's her first video as a director at Darkroom, Partizan's content and music video division.The concept behind Sawayama's hard rock-pop banger STFU!&nbsp;derives from her&nbsp;own experiences, her inner angst about micro-insults and all too familiar stereotypes as a Japanese woman brought up in the West. The film begins with a dialogue - written by Sawayama and scriptwriter Isobel Rogers - between Rina and her frustratingly ignorant date, in an upmarket Japanese restaurant, who subjects her to casually offensive, insensitive and stereotypical comments about her race, while apparently thinking he is being thoughtful.&nbsp;Eventually, enough is enough. Rina's internal rage explodes, in surprising ways. Her noughties nu-metal is slickly visualized&nbsp;in empowered versions of the stereotypes discussed by her despicable&nbsp;date. Catharsis is achieved.&nbsp;The video for STFU!, Kurr's first at Darkroom, follows promos made for&nbsp;Loyle Carner, Poppy Ajudha and Connie Constance. This year she has also directed spots for BBC, Veet and British Vogue.

Ben Pengilly

Afzal Robbani

Christopher Aoun Bvk

Karl Hui

Owen Whitehead

Noah Furrer

Afra Zamara

Kusi Kubi

Tomi Roppongi

Tomomi Shibusawa

Jo Lewandowska

Cut+Run

Alex Gregory

The Mill

Amp; Shante Simpson

Shola Riley

Rock

Rina Sawayama 'STFU!' by Ali Kurr - now signed to Darkroom

Rina-Sawayama-'&#039;stfu&#039;'-by-Ali-Kurr

Ali Kurr's video&nbsp;for a collaborative piece from Irish musicians Soulé, Elaine Mai &amp; Sorcha Richardson - produced as part of Three Ireland's #MadeByMusic project - features the blossoming of a love from a young man and woman in a parallel reality.Their blissful progress is compromised by the appearance of... themselves. Kurr creates a moment of real wonder as the hero and heroine explore these identikit&nbsp;clones. You'll quickly figure out how she did it. Meg Thorne's edit builds a range of emotions in this opaque story which works well with the track, Butterflies.

Ireland

Dasha Deriagina

Paula Stewart

Antidote

Andrew Freedman

Aleksey Savelov

Piers McGrail

Daniel Dubrovsky

Sergey Volniy

Natalie Esmurzieva

Meg Thorne

George K

Raygun

Jen Connolly

Maria Fabro

Dream pop

Soulé, Elaine Mai & Sorcha Richardson 'Butterflies' by Ali Kurr

Soulé,-Elaine-Mai-&amp;-Sorcha-Richardson-'Butterflies'-by-Ali-Kurr

Ali Kurr directs a quirky, charming supermarket-set romance featuring upcoming singer-songwriter Amber-Simone for the sweet and lovely&nbsp;nu-soul of Strawberry Kisses.

Erin Sayder

Luke Tierney

Rosa Junkovic

Adam Barnett

Jake Whitehouse

Joshua Dadson

Caio Dinis

Phoebe Platman

Natalie Wilkins

Michelle Boggs

Oisín O'Driscoll

Dan Butler

Maggie McDermott

Amber Simone, Uli Forde, Sophia Flohr, James Bryant, Diane Crush

Adam Callan

Becky Tong

Juicebox

R&B, Soul

Amber Simone 'Strawberry Kisses' by Ali Kurr

Amber-Simone-'Strawberry-Kisses'-by-Ali-Kurr

Ali Kurr&#39;s second video for Poppy Ajudha &ndash; the first was&nbsp;nominated at the UKMVAs last year - is an intimate portrait of the London singer, where the daily business of life and the creative impulse overlap.Shot on 16mm by Spike Morris, the grit and grime of London life drift away when Poppy is submerged, or just in the performance zone.

Spike Morris

Coco Mell

Lucy Thomas

Austin Philips

Magda Plugowska

Trim Editing

Joseph Bicknell

CHEAT

Poppy Ajudha 'She Is The Sum' by Ali Kurr

Poppy-Ajudha-'She-Is-The-Sum'-by-Ali-Kurr

Ali Kurr&#39;s new video for Brighton indie band Yonaka captures their vibrant energy at a cool house party, while outside a girl blows the biggest, and sexiest, bubblegum bubble in the world ever.Okay her massive bubble looks like its&nbsp;made of silk. But it has a strange effect on everyone who comes in contact with it. They all succumb to the bubblegum.

Ali Kurr

Director

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