Director of Photography

Diego Rosenblatt

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

Ali Kurr

Mayling Wong

Lyubo Yonchev (four Elements)

Partizan Darkroom

Tom Connick

Manol Mitrev

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

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

Mouthpiece

Four Elements, Bulgaria

Will Frost

Rosen Savkov

Samuil Djoganov

Igor

Joshua Pilmore

Todor Sivov

Greta Stefanova-Kandzhova

Maria Koleva

Krasimira Petrova

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.

Diego Rosenblatt

Director of Photography

Videos featuring Diego Rosenblatt

2022 (3)

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