Director

Andy Mihov

Andy Mihov directs a romantically wistful promo for singer Elena Flury's Hold It All Together, depicting an all-too-universal experience - the point in a relationship where it's coming to an end but neither know how to pull the plug.&nbsp;Through a series of cinematic vignettes, we see Elena and her love interest (played by Mats Lehmann) in a painful tug of war. Instead of focusing on any kind of argument or disagreement, Mihov brings the visual to life by presenting the moments in between - the awkward gaps in conversation, stolen moments of introspection.&nbsp;As a result of this artistic approach and some beautiful cinematography and art direction, the video perfectly encapsulates the ethereal nature of nostalgia, balanced with a sense of grounded realism.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"My collaborations with Elena have yielded some of my favourite work and I’m always thrilled when we get together," Mihov explains. "When the idea came to me, I instantly gelled with it because in my own way I’ve lived that story, as I’m sure many others have."I’m fascinated by the nostalgia and melancholy of teenagerhood and our young adult years. Every emotion and situation seem so much more alive, present, and urgent than they sometimes really are if we were to observe them through the lens of adulthood and experience."Our first loves and breakups are monumental, and we carry them with us throughout our lives one way or another. For me, there is a certain sense of humour in that as well. Elena loved the idea of both taking the subject seriously and poking a bit of fun at the drama.[imgtoken data:2]"When I was growing up, I remember watching Brazilian telenovelas with my grandmother after school, so that found its way into the expression of the story as did the idea of the apple which features prominently in Greek and Norse myths as a symbol of beauty and discord. To me an important element was also the dissociation and inner turmoil of Elena’s character that we weaved in through more abstract visuals."As with our first collaboration, we were a small production. I’m always vindicated in my belief that it really isn’t the size of the crew, it’s how much fun people are having and how strong the team spirit and creative exchange is on set. It was great for this one and what we achieved on the limitations we had, I’m very proud of that."

United Kingdom

Aurora Melpignano

Chantelle Stewart

Indiana Andrews

33Red Films

Mark Lane

Nina Oyens

Gemma Mancinelli

Aidan Brook

Tom Marshall

Mara Ciorba

CHEAT

Elena Flury

Mats Lehmann

Elena Flury 'Hold It All Together' by Andy Mihov

Elena Flury - Hold It All Together (Official Music Video)

Andy Mihov directs a rousing&nbsp;promo for rock band Diamond Black, which sees the group perform in an intimate music room, as several patrons hang out and watch the show.&nbsp;Filmed at The Lexington in Islington, the video has a thought-provoking, almost wistful energy, which is visualised in an abstract, enigmatic way.&nbsp;This feeling is channeled in the cinematography and overall aesthetic of the video."We shot the video&nbsp;to kick off the band’s UK tour with Esprit D’Air, another band that I have collaborated with," Mihov mentions.&nbsp;"It was an intimate but special shoot because Diamond Black has undergone a big transformation, and this was the first video we had done together in a few years.[imgtoken data:1]"The song is all about the melancholy, the pressure and the anxiety people experience in their ordinary day-to-day lives. It doesn’t have to be about anything massive, it can just be as simple as the angst some of us feel when we’re on social media, or that sense of self-loathing that comes from not believing you’re good enough."We wanted to focus on the band’s energetic and emotionally charged performance and we opted for a style of camerawork that fits the genre without falling into any cliches.&nbsp;We still wanted the viewer to feel the control in our movements and our framing. I think this approach helps the video feel like it brings the message of the song to life in every aspect of its DNA."

Matthew Thompson

Blood Films

Charlie Lodge

Wouter Verheul

Conor Duffy

Michael Clark

Chris Kirtley

Murray Boden

Luke Flaherty

Yole Quintero

Mariana Patsi

Esther Woodbridge

Cargo Records

Rock

Diamond Black 'Through The Misery' by Andy Mihov

Diamond-Black-'Through-The-Misery'-by-Andy-Mihov

Andy Mihov and&nbsp;Paul Romero Mendez direct a Christmas extravaganza for Kelli-Leigh.In their second collaboration with the artist, the directors explore the&nbsp;very relatable human feeling of wanting to love and feel loved, not just around the holidays but all year round.Boasting luxurious locations, dazzling styling and an overarching feeling of festive fun, it's a brilliant collaboration, which will get viewers in the right mindset for the holiday season.&nbsp;"Our vision for this video was to make it feel grounded and classic, like a film you love to put on in the lead-up to Christmas Eve… but with a tinge of magical realism," Mihov mentions.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"The most fun part was planning and doing the transitions, those are always nice technical and creative challenge for filmmakers. The post process was very involved and that’s where the strength of being in a directing duo is really noticeable. We could really share the workload and riff off each other’s ideas, same as we did on set. We had planned for our visual effects and animations to help create that storybook feeling to the video, and we had some really fantastic people helming that.""Bringing on an experienced producer like Millie Ansari was key to achieving this. There were a lot of moving parts to this both creatively and logistically for a one-day shoot. Our DoP and crew were phenomenal, and all praise goes to them for sticking by and believing in the vision we had for this. We were especially proud to receive support from the legendary Imogen Heap in the making of the video.[imgtoken data:2]"It was a remarkable experience creating this and it got us all in the holiday spirit. Feel like quite a few people from the crew went home to hang mistletoe even though it was still October."

Alex Jones Nash

Sydney Butler

Cameron Carr

Olivia Jessop

Louisa Mars

Paul Romero Mendez

Millie Ansari

Scott Harris

Cray Smith

Toby Lloyd

Jenna Leeds

Dan Pachalski

Lee Brown

Etai Shomri

Alice Tucker

Erica Harding

Alice Lazar

Roseanna Velin

Danyal Kadir

Electric Theatre Collective

Silver Music

Kelli-Leigh 'Unwrap My Heart' by Andy Mihov, Paul Romero Mendez

Kelli-leigh-'Unwrap-My-Heart'-by-Andy-Mihov,paul-Romero-Mendez

Andy Mihov directs a contemplative promo for London-based singer Elena Flury.&nbsp;Shot across London over a couple of nights, the video for Burning Questions presents&nbsp;a romanticised evening in the lives of three friends who are all on the cusp of transformative moments in their lives – big and small.As the night goes on, you can feel that the space growing between Elena and them. It’s a friendship that she knows will end and maybe one day soon… But not just yet.The use of textural overlays and glitchy effects adds a nostalgic flair to the visual, whilst the core performances anchor the themes of the track and concept.[imgtoken data:1]"It was a small but incredible crew from production to post, all absolutely stellar people, who went above and beyond for the project." Mihov mentions.&nbsp;"It was a really great experience to work with our young actors, all fresh out of the Giles Foreman Centre for Acting. They really put in a lot of hard work to meet the demands of the shoot. My journey as a director began in theatre and it’s always a beautiful experience getting to collaborate with actors."&nbsp;

Antonia Diakomopoulou

Femi Temowo

Gui Sussekind Bailey

Ella Sheffield

Megan Lee

Mariko Nishino

Michelangelo Fortuzzi

Nicholas Misse

Singer-songwriter

Elena Flury 'Burning Questions' by Andy Mihov

Elena-Flury-'Burning-Questions'-by-Andy-Mihov

Italian-British band Prescription Happiness collaborate with director AVM - aka Andy Mihov - for a second time, on the&nbsp;music video for&nbsp;Something Decays.&nbsp;Against bold coloured backdrops, we see the band perform whilst the lyrics show up on screen.&nbsp;"The band asked me not to be beholden to any tropes for dark rock/metal music videos and I was happy to oblige," Mihov explains.&nbsp;And Mihov asked the band to perform bare-chested to expose their vulnerability, both as people and artists, in both a physical and emotional sense.&nbsp;"They were self-conscious at first, but we worked together to find that electricity between them and the track," he continues.&nbsp;"It was really pleasurable to work on a video where the driving forces were the raw energy of the track and the performance of the band."&nbsp;&nbsp;The post-production was handled by a motion graphics designer in Puerto Rico, with&nbsp;former Rocksteady cinematic artist&nbsp;Mark Maxwell creating the Shadow Presences which&nbsp;haunt the lead singer at the end of the video.

Leon Nikoo

Before Dawn Productions

Ollie Riches

Tom Watts

Stefano Pietrocola

Ben Pike

Christian Tyler

Etem Ozyay

Alex Berry

Quality Control

Mark Maxwell

Heavy Metal

Prescription Happiness 'Something Decays' by Andy Mihov

Prescription-Happiness-'Something-Decays'-by-Andy-Mihov

Andy Mihov directs an exhilarating&nbsp;promo for London-based deathcore band She Must Burn.&nbsp;After a line-up change and a temporary hiatus, the group wanted the music video for new single Incantation&nbsp;to be strikingly different.&nbsp;The compelling concept is given an equally as exciting visual treatment, taking inspiration from films such as&nbsp;Francis Ford Coppola’s&nbsp;Dracula.&nbsp;Explosive in more ways than one, it's a unique and refreshing idea with plenty of memorable moments."I like trying to do unusual things when working on metal music videos." Mihov explains.&nbsp;"I'm a huge fan of hip hop and pop rap, and I kind of always look to that world for inspiration. For some reason, the image I had in my head was of vampires and muscle cars. It was just a scene of this ancient vampire who has survived since the days of Carthage and now roams the world in a Cadillac, kidnapping humans and breaking their spirit before making them her thralls.”"Teaming up with long-time collaborators Tom Watts, Millie Ansari, and Terry Palamara, we set off to tell this story," continues Mihov.&nbsp;"Terry and I developed a precise palette for each scene, in which different colours would predominate in different sections of the video. I carried a big notebook around that was earmarked for each scene – everything from composition, styling, and cinematography. Even the vampires’ robes – designed by the amazing Tia Oguri were evocative of traditional African patterns – calling to the vampire’s ancient origins."It was an incredible pleasure to work with Teta Maria, who is a London-based international performer with the Fuel Girls. She brought so much personality and attitude to the role of the Vampire. The fire scene at the end of the day was entirely her idea. I think Tom and I still growing back parts of our eyebrows." &nbsp;

Terry Palamara

Tia Oguri

Indy Andrews

Gary Kent

William Wallace

Kirsta Larsen

Sharmaine Cox

Anastasija Potjomkina

Joakim Tonnberg

Teta Maria

Artery Recordings

She Must Burn 'Incantation' by Andy Mihov

She-Must-Burn-'Incantation'-by-Andy-Mihov

Andy Mihov cycles back to create an enhanced edition of a previous promo for&nbsp;Esprit D'air's Leviathon.&nbsp;The video&nbsp;tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world, ravaged by pandemics, where an AI seeks to break free from her abusive creator and help humankind.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"The original shoot was challenging. We had to bounce back from a few hiccups and the turnaround was brutal." Mihov mentions."We didn't really have time to play with things. When the dust settled, we were incredibly pleased with the result and the feedback was phenomenal. But we continued to toy with the idea of what more we could do.&nbsp;Forming a team across the UK, France and even Taiwan, Mihov expanded the story and added some additional graphics and visual effects work to the piece.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]"I'm incredibly grateful to the amazing team that stuck by me throughout it all. Leviathan 2.0 re-envisions our story, modernizes and definitely pushes it further into the realm of sci-fi fantasy."Leviathan 2.0: Enhanced Edition was released to mark the release of Esprit D'Air's second studio album Oceans.

Japan

Rosalie Bell

Caterina Danzico

Kristof Szentgyorgyvary

Suki Mok

Ewa Habdas

Finn Sheriton

Theodore Ryan

Lydia Buckler

Wojewoda Studio

Dead Lotus Couture

Elyara Nox Yoru

Johnny Richards

Tanver Ahammed

Starstorm Records

Esprit D'Air 'Leviathan 2.0: Enhanced Edition' by Andy Mihov

Esprit-D'air-'Leviathan-2.0:-Enhanced-Edition'-by-Andy-Mihov

Kelli-Leigh is ready for some festive fun in&nbsp;Andy Mihov &amp; Paul Romero Mendez's promo for Underneath The Tree.&nbsp;In their first ever collaboration&nbsp;as co-directors and co-producers, the duo created a promo&nbsp;for the Grammy nominated artist and songwriter where slick performance vignettes have a&nbsp;playful and celebratory seasonal vibe, and Santa himself even stops by for an appearance.&nbsp;Kelli-Leigh's performance is absorbing and assured, providing a perfect focal point for&nbsp;the Christmassy concept.[imgtoken data:1]"We wanted the music video to feel fun, joyful, and big without coming across as pretentious." says Mihov.&nbsp;"We had roughly a nine-day timeframe in which we had to refine and develop a concept, crew up and shoot the video to be in line with the artist’s planned release.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Kelli-Leigh is a super kind and down-to-earth person. It was her idea to involve her friends, their children and celebrity bodybuilder, Armz Korleone as Santa Claus. We really leaned into that and built the concept for the video around her getting ready for Christmas Day."As the song progresses the setting changes to a more home video feel, as we see her interact with her loved ones and Santa. Many of us probably have a memory of a parent recording us opening presents on Christmas morning and we wanted to pay homage to that very relatable human experience."[imgtoken data:2]"Even with the best laid plans, we had to keep flexible. We had kids on set and two dogs! Sharing the directing and producing responsibilities turned out to an amazing experience for both Paul and I. We were able to minimize unnecessary coverage, focus on specific lines and verses for each set up."We’re definitely going to continue collaborating as a directing duo on future promos and narrative projects, both as creatives and friends."

Robert Howells

Christian Griffiths

James Soldan

Sandra Hahnel

Lauren Nicole

Daniel Kadir

Silver Music Limited

Kelli-Leigh 'Underneath The Tree' by Andy Mihov & Paul Romero Mendez

Kelli-leigh-'Underneath-The-Tree'-by-Andy-Mihov-&-Paul-Romero-Mendez

Andy Mihov directs a vibrant studio-based promo for Erire, focussing on the charisma of the singer.&nbsp;Vibrant backgrounds and minimalist art direction&nbsp;set the tone for the All Night Long video, which is built around the artist's assured performance style and no-nonsense attitude, classily&nbsp;shot by DoP Suki Mok.&nbsp;Snapshots of lifestyle footage out and about with friends - and the inclusion of Erire's daughter Taga as the main dancer in the piece - add an intimate vibe to the concept, and a freshness to the aesthetic.&nbsp;

Ed Grant

Diana Francis

James Angus

Biometric Records

Erire 'All Night Long' by Andy Mihov

Erire-'All-Night-Long'-by-Andy-Mihov

Andy Mihov creates a&nbsp;near-future dystopian melodrama, with echoes of classic mythology and gothic horror, for the London-based Japanese metal outfit&nbsp;Esprit D'Air.The story revolves around Athena, the creation of AI genius Theodora, who is kept from the outside world and desires the freedom to be an individual in her own right. Mihov creates an absorbing twist upon a&nbsp;classic narrative, intercut with the Esprit D'Air frontman Kai's passionate performance of the bombastic Leviathan.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Thomas R. Atherton

Theo Ryan

Esprit D'Air 'Leviathan' by Andy Mihov

Esprit-D'air-'Leviathan'-by-Andy-Mihov

In this disturbing story directed by Andy Mihov, Dani, lead singer of Bury Tomorrow, faces a fruitless career and soul-crushing routine. As he trudges through his days in a mindless cycle, chaos and darkness threaten to take hold.We witness&nbsp;his rapidly deteriorating mental state, as&nbsp;he begins feeling his personality and sense of Self being metaphorically cannibalized by both society and his soulless routine.The colour red begins signifying his rapidly deteriorating mental state - but&nbsp;rather than descending into madness, Dani adapts. As the pressures of society and his overall unhappiness push him to the brink, he lets go of his identity in order to survive. His reflection in the mirror glitches, letting us know that inside his soul and identity have been compromised - devoured and gone.Although he has found a way to exist in the world the final scenes suggest that he is neither happier, nor has he escaped the mindless of his dark existence...

Emma Thompson

4th Floor Creative

Lina Remeikaite

Karol Jurga

Raul Menendez

Kieran Brown

Jakob Gierse

Chris Young

Music For Nations

Metal

Bury Tomorrow 'Cannibal' by Andy Mihov

Bury-Tomorrow-'Cannibals'-by-Andy-Mihov

You've heard of punk rock. Now try 'thug baroque'. Andy Mihov's video for band Diamond Black is an elegant, wide-eyed slant on the Eros myth.Ryan Davies Hall stars as Eros, son of Aphrodite and the personification of sexual desire, and Katrina Lilwall stars as Psyche, who is subjugated, murdered, then freed. This ancient story is rendered luxuriously by DoP Tom Watts, who borrows baroque compositions and and chiaroscuro lighting from Renaissance painters Caravaggio and Titian.