Director's Representation

Hurry Sundown

Maisie Peters gets her 'Julia Roberts in Notting Hill'&nbsp;thing going on - and dealing with two Hugh Grants&nbsp;- in&nbsp;Georgie Cowan-Turner's pitch-perfect, highly entertaining&nbsp;promo.Cowan-Turner creates the world to blend with Maisie's characteristically self-deprecating and witty songwriting&nbsp;with a video-within-the-video structure, where&nbsp;the harrassed director (played Louisa Connolly-Burnham) is tasked to recreate a scene from Notting Hill without the budget to shoot on location in the real Notting Hill.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So Maisie finds herself playing Julia in a&nbsp;cramped greenscreen studio where things threaten to get out of control&nbsp;- and the two hapless 'Hughs' are more interested in each other than her. This upbeat sense of impending (and actual) chaos, with excellent performances from her co-stars, provides a great showcase for Maisie to be at her relatable best - which is quite 'Julia Roberts' in itself.[imgtoken data:1]And Georgie Cowan-Turner confirms that the idea for the video came from the fact Maisie is rather obsessed with the movie.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Maisie had Notting Hill playing in the studio as she wrote songs for [new album] Florescence so it felt right that Questions should be her Notting Hill moment," she reveals."The video is inspired by the famous scene where Hugh Grant’s character walks through the market, with seasons changing as he deals with breaking up with Anna Scott - the Julia Roberts&nbsp;character. But I didn't want to copy it directly, which is where the comedy comes into it."And she made a few other changes to the original scene. "Maisie needed to be front and centre - not pining after Hugh Grant (played in this by Sebastian Croft and Jack Edwards). Her performance is so watchable and really shines throughout the video despite the chaos of budget cuts and VFX mishaps, the Hugh Grants falling for each other and a stressed director."And did life imitate art? Was the making of a video that shows the making of a chaotic music video, also&nbsp;chaotic..? Georgie&nbsp;Cowan-Turner is not giving too much away on that score, but she is certainly happy with the end result.&nbsp;&nbsp;"It's a really addictive song and I hope it's a very re-watchable video that doesn't take itself too seriously."

United Kingdom

Zenon Clements

Dan Hills

Steph Major

Georgie Cowan-Turner

Emily Clifford

Blindeye Films

Daisy King

Hollie Mapp

Ciaran O'brien

Sam Nutt

Roisin Byrne

Ben Hovington

Lauren Evans

Jack Howard

Felipe Szulc

Colour By Fawn

Atlantic Records

Singer-songwriter

Maisie Peters 'Questions' by Georgie Cowan-Turner

Maisie-Peters-'Questions'-by-Georgie-Cowan-turner

Thomas James directs a characteristically nightmarish vision for Irish alt-rock band Gurriers.&nbsp;The promo for Nobody's Coming To Save You is set&nbsp;in a post-apocalyptic future,&nbsp;weaving in a visceral, psychedelic performance from the band.The accompanying narrative plays out like a&nbsp;psychological horror short, oozing haunting atmosphere from&nbsp;every frame.&nbsp;Paying homage to gritty alternative videos from the noughties with&nbsp;fresh, visceral flair, it's an outstanding visual that lingers long after watching.&nbsp;

Ireland

Hannah Ashby Ward

Lucy James

Thomas James

Sam Holmes

ArtClass

Jack Burgess

Franklin Dow

Sam Fullerton

Grace Stamler

Dasha Taivas

Tom Gilfillan

Nathaniel Skeels

Alternative

Gurriers 'Nobody's Coming To Save You' by Thomas James

Gurriers - Nobody's Coming To Save You [Official Video]

Maxim Kelly once again demonstrates that making&nbsp;AI work in the creative space requires real intelligence.&nbsp;Kelly's video for Purple Disco Machine&nbsp;is a love letter to Pacha, the legendary Ibiza nightclub, by revisiting its&nbsp;humble beginnings as a holiday hangout for an eclectic variety of likeminded souls, back in the 1970s.His raw materials for the video for Disco Cherry&nbsp;was original archive footage, mostly photographs, of those days, supplied by the good folks at&nbsp;Pacha.&nbsp;In a similar way to Andrew Dominik's video last year for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnDm9w2F3KE" target="_blank">Nick Cave &amp; The Bad Seeds'&nbsp;Tupelo</a>, Kelly brings these images to life with a sensitive eye. It's illuminating - and also witty. Like in his recent AI-gen videos for Archive, he creates a narrative that is full of mordant, absurd humour.And if you're not looking for that stuff, you can also dig the vintage vibe, the sense of fun in the original Pacha bar, full of&nbsp;warm textures, groovy dancing and somewhat startling portraiture. And what's more, it's a suitably funky visual for the feelgood track.&nbsp;

Tallia Clarke

Maxim Kelly

Gina Crighton

FRIEND

Michael Lewin

Rob McGuire

Shift

Sony Music Germany

Purple Disco Machine 'Disco Cherry' by Maxim Kelly

Purple-Disco-Machine-'Disco-Cherry'-by-Maxim-Kelly

Ling Yu and Nadia Loren collaborate on the breezy and knowing video for the rising star's latest.Nadia looks cool and chic, with a 1960s-style aesthetic evident in a variety of London interior and exterior set-ups for the breathy Wings Of Desire. She stares down the camera lens in nearly all of them, and makes a real impression.Creative directed by Blacksocks of bedroom, the sense of fun, and element of tongue-in-cheekiness,&nbsp;serves the main objective -&nbsp;projecting&nbsp;Nadia's personality and confidence.&nbsp;That is achieved really well.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Eden Lovesee-Clark

Ling Yu

Aki Pine

Kenneth Liew

Dajiana Huang

William Inigo

Kennedy Rough

Dakota Blacklaws-lacy

Nadia Loren

Frazer J Callaghan

Megan Lee

Vlf Records

BLACKSOCKS

Harbour Picture Company

Nadia Loren 'Wings Of Desire' by Ling Yu & Nadia Loren

Nadia-Loren-'Wings-Of-Desire'-by-Ling-Yu

The concluding track on Kneecap's new album Fenian - released today (May 1st) - is a deeply personal and moving piece by the band's&nbsp;Móglaí Bap about his sadly departed mother. It's accompanied by a 12 minute short film which incorporates the song whilst addressing its subject in profound terms.The song is&nbsp;Móglaí Bap's response to the death of his mother by suicide after suffering depression for years, an attempt to reach back to happier times - with the added contribution of Kae Tempest. Set at the wake of a young man who has died by suicide, James's film dramatises the emotional impact upon his family and friends.Featuring an exceptional cast, with Liam Cunningham and Deirdre O’Kane as the young man's bereaved parents, James's camera is a low-key spectator on brief conversations, snatched between performance sections of the track. The narrative&nbsp;captures the way people use words - including humour - to cope with intense grief. But there is also just the pictures that say everything, particularly the haunted face of mostly silent Cunningham as the devastated father.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"There’s a line in the track which encapsulates everything I’d like to say, 'It’s not an issue, I just want to say I missed you'.&nbsp;That’s the mentality of this film. It’s not angry at those who have chosen to leave by taking their own life, but it’s compassionate to those that are still here," says James about the film for Irish Goodbye, which follows his videos for the new album's <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2026/01/30/kneecap-liars-tale-thomas-james/93964" target="_blank">A Liar's Tale</a> and title track <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2026/04/13/kneecap-fenian-thomas-james/94613" target="_blank">Fenian</a>."It’s not often I’m candid or honest when I write these things - but this deserves more than hiding behind some shitty quip about the craziness of the shoot, or some arbitrary, benign detail you fully know is going to become a pull quote."This film, this song, all deals with something incredibly personal, and incredibly close to my heart, and to many people’s hearts. To be a part of this, to write and think and work, with everything this song is about, has been a privilege - but it also felt like an owed responsibility."I couldn’t be prouder to have been involved in something. It’s been a beautiful, sorrowful and contemplative experience - and I really hope that shows in the film. I’m forever grateful to so many people who helped make this one a reality."

Ben Harte

Luke Spencer

Aoife Mcguigan

Darren Sinnott

Lisa Turnbull-daly

Reblis Films

Padraig Conaty

Piers McGrail

Darragh O'flannagáin

Oisin Gallagher

Jack Breslin

Aidan Coogan

India O’shea

Tom Gifillan

The Shop

Lane Casting

Kneecap ft Kae Tempest 'Irish Goodbye' by Thomas James

Kneecap-'Irish-Goodbye'-by-Thomas-James

The talented LA PAC and C41 director&nbsp;lives in Milan&nbsp;but would rather be in Paris, mainly listens to music by dead people&nbsp;and winning at the UKMVAs last year took her by&nbsp;surprise. Alice Fassi tells us about the work that defines her and reveals her maxim for bigger and&nbsp;bolder creativity.&nbsp;Name: Alice FassiBirthday: 25.09.94Where did you grow up? In Milano (unfortunately).&nbsp;Place of further education and course (if any)? SAE Institute in “Filmmaking” course.&nbsp;Where do you live now? In Milano. Trying to move to Paris again.&nbsp;Name a film or video or other creative work that had a huge influence on your career choice?<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit/" target="_blank">Who Framed Roger Rabbit</a>, for sure. I’ve watched it so many times since I was a kid, and it still surprises me every time. It’s just so impressive what they pulled off. That mix of animation and live action felt kind of magical to me, and I think it really shaped the way I see storytelling - the mix of 'grounded'&nbsp;and absurd.[vidtoken data:0]<blockquote>It really shaped the way I see storytelling - the mix of 'grounded'&nbsp;and absurd.</blockquote>What were the important first projects for you, in terms of a learning experience and getting noticed, or a foothold in the industry?I would say my music videos were definitely a turning point, especially <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2024/10/21/cults-onions-alice-fassi/88633" target="_blank">Onions, by Cults</a>. They wanted something with a horror-humour tone, inspired by Beetlejuice, which was exactly what I was looking for. It was the first project where I truly felt I could express myself 100%.[vidtoken data:1]Then my commercial for Salomon, which I shot last year in Georgia, was another key experience. It was a very fun project and allowed me to merge my love for fashion with a slightly more absurd, unexpected twist, which is something that really defines my work.[vidtoken data:2]And finally, my film for Vogue in collaboration with Maserati. One of my very first projects. It gave me the opportunity to express myself with choreography, entirely shot on 16mm film.[vidtoken data:3]Best film(s) you saw last year?I’ll stick to films that were actually released last year, otherwise the list would get way too long! I’d say:&nbsp;28 Years Later,&nbsp;Bugonia,&nbsp;The Shrouds,&nbsp;One Battle After Another&nbsp;and&nbsp;Weapons.Favourite song/album/music artist in the past year?I mostly listen to music by people who are dead. So again let’s focusing on contemporary music: LCD Soundsystem, Sleaford Mods, La Femme, Fontaines DC, Future Islands. Would love to make a music video for any of them!<blockquote>In the US last summer... I felt like I was living inside of a movie.&nbsp;</blockquote>Favourite music video/videos in the past year?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2025/01/17/doechii-denial-river-james-mackel-carlos-acosta/89579" target="_blank">Doechii's Denial Is A River</a>, <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2024/09/03/sabrina-carpenter-taste-dave-meyers/87988" target="_blank">Sabrina Carpenter's&nbsp;Taste</a>, and pretty much all the A$AP Rocky videos. They feel like really fun characters to build a video around, and you can tell there’s a lot of creative collaboration there.What was (or usually is) your favourite night out last year?Oh, I had so many. I’d say all the nights where I actually experienced something, not just going out for the sake of leaving the house. In the US last summer, it all felt quite folkloristic. I felt like I was living inside of a movie.&nbsp;In terms of the music video-related jobs of the past year or so, what were the most rewarding creatively, and why?Last year I only shot one music video. It was for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2025/06/03/joy-crookes-carmen-alice-fassi/91219" target="_blank">Joy Crookes’s track Carmen</a>. Joy is such an amazing character and we were very aligned creatively, so the process felt smooth. It’s just a shame we couldn’t shoot everything we had planned, or fully realize the vision the way I had imagined it.[vidtoken data:4]Most annoying or irksome thing that’s been going on this year, work-related or otherwise?I feel like directors should be protected more. Sometimes we pitch against more than five other directors without even knowing it. Writing a treatment is a lot of unpaid work, and it’s frustrating to see that effort not being properly recognized.What are your favourite other (non-mv) projects of the past year or so?I would say my commercial for Salomon, which I mentioned earlier. Then Born To Create Drama,&nbsp;a short narrative film. That project was particularly exciting because we shot it in just one day, entirely on an iPhone, with a kid actor at his very first experience, and there was something really raw and honest about that. The film opened the YDA winners screening in Cannes last year which makes what we achieved feel even more surreal.[vidtoken data:5]And finally The Testimonial, a short film I directed for the 150th anniversary of Audemars Piguet, starring Pierfrancesco Favino. That experience was the complete opposite from the previous,&nbsp;in a way. It gave me the chance to work with a highly experienced actor, and to really explore how much you can play and even improvise when you’re collaborating with someone who has such mastery of their craft.[vidtoken data:6]What’s the most surprising thing that’s happened last year?Work-wise I would say winning the UKMVA with my music video Onions&nbsp;for Cults! I was so surprised I hadn’t even prepared a short 'thank you'&nbsp;speech.Your top suggestion to change and improve how the music video industry works?I would try to make the process more fluid. Everything always feels urgent, even before things properly begin. Since budgets are often very tight, having more time would really help in finding better creative solutions.What are you looking forward to for the rest of the year?Plenty of adventures and lots of super fun films!!!• Alice Fassi is with LA PAC in France, C41 in Italy, with represented for music videos in the UK by Hurry Sundown. Watch more of her work <a href="https://pac.fr/directors/alice-fassi/" target="_blank">here</a>.

Alice Fassi

La Pac

THE SNAPSHOT Q&A: Alice Fassi

Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Trailer (HD) (1988)

Cults-'Onions-'-by-Alice-Fassi

SALOMON - Whisper Void

Vogue x Maserati

Joy Crookes - Carmen (Official Video)

BORN TO CREATE DRAMA - opening YDA

Audemars Piguet - The Testimonial (Starring Pierfrancesco Favino)

Thomas James harnesses the full force of the Kneecap phenomenon in a barnstorming video for Fenian - which places&nbsp;DJ Provai’s now ubiquitous tricolour balaclava very much front and centre.Shot in and around the hip hop trio's home territory of West Belfast - plus additional material&nbsp;in Dublin and London - James reflects the raucous spirit of this party anthem (the title track from Kneecap's forthcoming new album, out May 1st)&nbsp;with the off-kilter surrealism and instant visual power that marked out his video for its predecessor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2026/01/30/kneecap-liars-tale-thomas-james/93964" target="_blank">A Liar's Tale</a> -&nbsp;with the intensity dialled down and the fun dialled up to the max.The song is about taking back a term that is steeped in Irish history and pride with then became an anti-Irish slur. The video uses the tricolour balaclava as the device to do that - and it shows up in all sorts of surprising places..."For me, this track is about a reclaiming of identity," says James. "Not only of the word, but for people too. Which is what our film is. A trippy whirlwind through people and places who embody the spirit of the boys and the song. Of seeing the word Fenian through a new lens."It was a blast. It was chaos. It was a fever dream of running around Ireland convincing people to pop a bally on and do something mental. Good times had by all."[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]

Aidan Gault

London - Sam Fullerton

Dave King

Paddy Cassidy

Ado Coogan

Hip Hop

Kneecap 'Fenian' by Thomas James

Kneecap-'Fenian'-by-Thomas-James

Douglas Reddan is back for another feisty outing with Say Now, tapping into the girls' everyday frustrations in their now familiar full-on, highly colourful and dance-friendly&nbsp;fashion.&nbsp;The video for Supermarket perfectly captures the&nbsp;feeling of having a minor emotional meltdown in public, following the girls on a mundane grocery run while they agonise&nbsp;over text messages and relationship drama.Interwoven with fun choreography, dazzling performance vignettes and a comically apathetic cashier,&nbsp;it's a fun-filled promo bursting with energy and personality.&nbsp;Lovely work.&nbsp;

Flo Webb

Douglas Reddan

Zoe Gunn

Shotgunn Productions

Kim Jarrett

Jed Clist

Tobi Kenneth

Yaz Evans

Flynn Dennison

Antoine Law

Zacc Milne

Ashley-Michael Graham

Noemie Adebiyi

Chris Bell

Say Now 'Supermarket' by Douglas Reddan

Say-Now-'Supermarket'-by-Douglas-Reddan

Paris Paloma confronts the threat of Generative AI, rendered in physical form as an amorphous monster, in Georgie Cowan-Turner rousing promo for the singer-songwriter.&nbsp;Conceptualising the technology&nbsp;that has caused considerable upheaval across the creative industries as a human in a costume, the video for Miyazaki takes the track's themes and brings them to life in a clever, thought-provoking way: Paris is&nbsp;an armour-wearing knight,&nbsp;making her way through a forest until coming upon the faceless monster, and responds with a fiery display of her own.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anchored by another confident, assured performance, Cowan-Turner's latest promo for Paris Paloma is&nbsp;a statement of intent - a promise to keep creating as humans and to weather the storm at every turn.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]"We wanted the video to be a defiant response to the AI crisis facing the creative industries, something both myself and Paris feel passionately about," says the director.&nbsp;"The song's title was inspired by Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, who is known for his immense creativity and his visceral reaction when presented with an AI 'monster' which he called an 'Insult to life itself'.<blockquote>I wanted the creature to have that eerie slightly void feeling of AI art.</blockquote>"We decided to make Paris a defiant knight fleeing from an AI monster inspired by the one that Miyazaki reacted to. Instead of using AI I worked with the talented costume designer and visual artist&nbsp;Juliet Dodson on the costume to create a 'human-made' version of AI, a character then embodied by dancer Jennifer Wilson.[imgtoken data:2]"I wanted the creature to have that eerie slightly void feeling of AI art. It follows Paris in the way of classic monsters but it sort of fails in every way - it's AI slop."In contrast to the monster, for the rest of the video I was drawn to paintings and the visuals associated with both artistry and classic, human storytelling (with a Paris twist) so knights and fairytales, female warriors seen on screen - Cate Blanchett in armour in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Joan of Arc and then also the role of fire in films about female artists like Portrait of a Lady on Fire."It's really a piece about fighting for your right to create and reminding us all how much we have to lose if we devalue human creativity."

Jennifer Wilson

Dan Smith

Leith Clark

Peter Bromfield

Alex Kryszkiewicz

Mo Adbi

Chelsea Bernard

Zana Piber

Juliet Dodson

Mike O'Gorman

Alice Howlett

Louis Catlett

Sharon Chung

Wash

Max Colt @ The Frender

Nettwerk

Singer songwriter

Paris Paloma 'Miyazaki' by Georgie Cowan-Turner | 'It's about how much we lose if we devalue human creativity.'

Paris Paloma - Miyazaki [Official Music Video]

It's collab number five for Say Now and director&nbsp;Douglas Reddan - and quite possibly the best yet.&nbsp;The video for Millions evokes girlgroup nostalgia in every frame, paying homage to videos like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCLxJd1d84s" target="_blank">The Pussycat Dolls'&nbsp;Buttons</a> whilst keeping things fresh and cinematic.&nbsp;From slick choreo to decadent, gold-hued&nbsp;performance vibes, it's an accomplished, ambitious visual that still feels intimate and authentic.&nbsp;The future of girl group videos is in good hands. And let's see what both sides bring to the next collab - it's sure to be a hit.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]&nbsp;[imgtoken data:3]

Shireen Mccormack

Marcus Vrondas

Sanilson Monteiro

Cameron Holland

Charlie Morris

Lili Ramundi

Say Now Stylist: Tio

Nathan Legger

Abby Rothwell

Krunal Saadrani

Billy Kendall

Jamie Oliver Lai

Beth Lamyman

Todd Williamson

Hana Morris

Harbor Picture Company

Andrew Loughnane

Lola Webster

Emmyland

SHL Lighting

Say Now 'Millions' by Douglas Reddan

Say-Now-'Millions'-by-Douglas-Reddan

Jessie Ware channels her inner horsewoman - with&nbsp;leading actor James Norton as her willing steed - in Thomas James' steamy and atmospheric video for Ride.Featuring an interpolation of the main theme from classic spaghetti western The Good, The Bad &amp; The Ugly, the song certainly lends itself to having a cowboy-based video. But under James's direction, this takes an untypical turn, and certainly puts Jessie in control: Norton rides into Jessie's life, on white horse Caravan,&nbsp;but she asserts a majestic presence, and he becomes her submissive plaything.With a moody cinematic monochrome palette&nbsp;shot by Natasha Duursma, this sees Jessie the disco diva making a leftfield move into an aesthetic that&nbsp;Thomas James has perfected working for hellraising rock-based acts and&nbsp;iconoclastic rappers like Kneecap. And it pays off, in adding another dimension to her mystique.&nbsp;[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]&nbsp;"The video is fully about Jessie and James - and their pretty stellar performances," says Thomas James. "Twisting perhaps, expectations of the handsome alpha cowboy."They approached the project really wanting to push perceptions. We had a lot of rehearsal, and the guys were very keen to improvise..."It was quite a liberating shoot, just rolling with the spontaneity. I think their on-screen chemistry, and there trust in each other, is what makes it what it is."

Syd Harmony

Benjamin Johnsson

Chris Murdoch

Artclass Content

Theresa Adebiyi

Tom Nowell

Natasha Duursma

Scarlet Green

Chris Malin

Toby Mckay

Leo Westcott

Ella Lucia

Patrick Wilson

Francesca Brazzo

James Norton

EMI Records

Disco

Dance

Jessie Ware 'Ride' by Thomas James

Jessie-Ware-'Ride'-by-Thomas-James

<h3>We spoke to FRIEND director Noel Paul about his extraordinary new video for singer-songwriter Mitski, hearing about&nbsp;the idea at its heart, the pros and cons of working at a&nbsp;remarkable location&nbsp;and the big influence of experimental filmmaker Guy Maddin on it's breathless narrative&nbsp;style.&nbsp;BTS photos by Melanie Safi.</h3>Although he has been largely occupied on a feature film in the past year or so, Noel Paul has managed to crowbar a couple of significant music video projects into his busy schedule. And both of them have contributed to a very distinctive storytelling technique that Paul has been working on for a while, where the action all takes place much more quickly than normal.In his UKMVA-winning video for Black Midi's Sugar/Tsu, the accelerated pace of the video is a contributing factor in achieving a suitable level of weirdness that goes hand-in-hand with the eccentric nature of the band. Then in his video for&nbsp;Geese's Taxes, which came out last summer, it's central to the plot, as the band's show at a small club explodes into chaos.And now, there is Paul's video for Mitski's Where My Phone?, where the technique is applied in its most ambitious form yet. It's fair to say that it transforms an existing text, and in doing so, creates&nbsp;something unique and hugely powerful.&nbsp;[vidtoken data:0]The base material is a gripping gothic tale, in which Mitski takes on a very surprising role - the guardian of a younger girl, desperate to prevent her charge to leave the picturesque house&nbsp;where they live, paranoid about her connecting with any of the stream of strange visitors who descend upon the house.Under Noel Paul's direction, this is delivered at a crazily zany speed, rendering it strange and cartoonish. It's both highly original and utterly gripping - with a fantastic performance by Mitski in the lead role, leading to a jolting denouement.It's undoubtedly one of the best videos of the year so far.&nbsp;So we got in touch with Noel Paul to find out how it happened.<h3>PROMONEWS: How did this project start for you? What kind of brief did you get from Team Mitski?</h3>NOEL PAUL: It started with a text message from Mitski’s manager that just said “Noel.” Then like 20 minutes went by with no follow up message and my curiosity was piqued. That’s how the real pros convince you to pitch.Mitski’s prompt mentioned <a href="https://archive.org/details/wehavealwayslive00jack" target="_blank">Shirley Jackson’s novel&nbsp;We Have Always Lived In The Castle</a>&nbsp;as a vibe reference, and asked for an absurd video involving Mitski repeatedly facing obstacles of some kind.<blockquote>Mitski can express all kinds of things with her body language. That emboldened me to ask her for an over-the-top performance.&nbsp;</blockquote><h3>The idea for the video seems a long way from the song title. Did the theme of the song influence the concept, or did it come from another place entirely?</h3>NP: Well, the song seems to be about losing more than your phone. Losing yourself, or wanting to lose yourself, or wanting to get away from yourself and from the world. From everything in you and around you that’s hijacking your attention. That’s how it resonated with me, anyhow.So a barrage of exaggerated gestures felt appropriate. The premise is lifted from the Shirley Jackson novel Mitski mentioned in her brief, with Mitski cast as a protective paranoiac struggling to keep a younger woman confined in a gothic house.[imgtoken data:1]Above; Mitski (centre) and Noel Paul (right) on the Where's My Phone? video shoot in upstate New York, November 2025<h3>She’s experienced in the medium and seems comfortable expressing emotion on screen. Was that a factor in the idea, and the choice of story?</h3>NP: Mitski gives fearless performances and she’s a gifted mover. She can fight, jump, learn choreography, change her pace, and express all kinds of things with her body language. That certainly emboldened me to ask her for such an over the top performance.&nbsp;PN: Did your previous collaboration with Mitski have an influence or a bearing on this one?&nbsp;NP: In our previous video,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WW7cuAm-7Y" target="_blank">Bug Like an Angel</a>, Mitski was the fixed point around which the action swirled. She barely moves. She gives a quiet, inscrutable performance. The tension and power comes from her restraint, her stillness, and then the one moment of eye contact when she looks up. In Where’s My Phone? she gets to do pretty much the opposite of all that.<h3>PN: What were the biggest challenges in pre-production?&nbsp;</h3>NP: The biggest challenge in prepro was finding a location. We needed a Victorian gothic revival house with a magical quality, it had to have a yard that set it apart from nearby houses, and it had to be inside the 25-mile radius “production zone” around NYC. That’s a tall order.[imgtoken data:2]Above: "My producer Lucy&nbsp;and I just went and knocked on doors... Eventually we came to this little green house that looks like it’s from a fairy tale."I follow some photographers who document neighbourhoods in the five boroughs. By trawling through their photos I made a list of houses that looked interesting, but I had no contact info for any of them. So my producer Lucy and I just went and knocked on doors.&nbsp;The first place we tried turned out to be right next door to an open-air shooting range and the sound of gunfire was extremely oppressive. That didn’t seem like the right vibe for Mitski so we moved on.Eventually we came to this little green house that looks like it’s from a fairy tale. We rang the doorbell and met Edwin, its owner and restorer, who graciously invited us in and showed us around. His home is not only beautiful on the outside, the interior is essentially a museum of period antiques and furnishings. It’s extraordinary.We were very fortunate to be able to shoot the video in such a special place with such a cool host. Edwin has a cameo in the video too: he’s the neighbour holding a rake.[imgtoken data:3]Above: Autumn in New York;&nbsp;Mitski watches on at the Where's My Phone? shoot location&nbsp;<h3>PN: When and where did you shoot the video and how many shoot days? What were the biggest challenges on the shoot?&nbsp;</h3>NP: The shoot was two days in mid-November. I wanted the camera language to have the energy of a moth frantically orbiting and smashing itself around a lightbulb. But the house was cramped and full of precious antiques, so an FPV drone wasn’t possible. And anyways, I think they lack the finesse and personal touch you get with a handheld camera.And we had to work fast. The shotlist was enormous. We did something like 35 setups per day. So a big part of the challenge was just how to let my DoP Ramzi Hibri be a moth without all the footage feeling too homogenous.&nbsp;<blockquote>I wanted...&nbsp;the energy of a moth frantically orbiting and smashing itself around a lightbulb.</blockquote><h3>PN: The storytelling technique in Where’s My Phone is something you’ve explored before, in your videos for Black Midi, Geese, Danny Brown. Where did it originate? How is it evolving? And how do you achieve it in terms of shooting - slower frame rate?</h3>NP: Exactly, the similarity across all those videos is the use of slow frame rates, aka undercranking.I think it originates with an experience I had as an art student many years ago when I got to work on a Guy Maddin film,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVl5Bnj_EO8" target="_blank">The Brand Upon The Brain</a>. It was the first time I was on a film set. Guy was constantly changing framerates, improvising shots, putting vaseline on the lens, often recording sound independently of picture, shouting directions at the cast mid-performance. There was a freedom and playfulness to his approach. It had a tremendous influence on me.[vidtoken data:1]<h3>PN: Mitski gives an amazing performance in the video. What kind of direction did you give her?</h3>NP: We worked hard to constantly shift gears throughout the shoot, both emotionally and physically. Ramzi and our cast needed to change their pace from shot to shot and move through space and emotional states at different speeds. We listened to different music on set to set the vibe, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKOxwPWTuo0" target="_blank">Stravinsky’s Firebird</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS2at_MP9GA" target="_blank">Popol Vuh’s soundtrack of&nbsp;Aguirre, The Wrath of God</a>.&nbsp;Because the story is so hyperspeed and Mitski’s role has so much paranoid/protective motivation, there was a danger that her character could seem too one-dimensional. Ramzi, my movement director Monica Mirabile, and my dramaturg Martha West were all very attentive to this, helping to make sure we made space for Mitski’s character to give moments of sorrow, ecstasy, resignation, and serenity amidst all the crashing out. It required a lot of mental and physical dexterity from everyone.[imgtoken data:4]Above: Mitski with co-stars&nbsp;Madison Wada (left) and Miki Orihara on set of the Where's My Phone? video, Paul sitting on the right.&nbsp;&nbsp;The other thing that really helped Mitski give such a great performance was the quality of the rest of the cast, many of whom are gifted dancers and movement practitioners that Monica brought onboard. Madison Wada and Miki Orihara, who play Mitski’s family, are both incredible dancers. So are Tara-Jo Tashna, Kate Williams, Christina Torres, Reed Rushes, Martha West, and Allison Hsu. And Sam Geller, who Mitski murders [in the video], is an Aikido instructor.<h3>PN: What’s next for you?</h3>NP: I’ve recently finished two years of editing and co-producing a feature documentary called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.berlinale.de/en/2026/programme/202604750.html" target="_blank">Bucks Harbor, that's&nbsp;just premiered at the Berlinale</a>. It was my first time editing a feature and it was an enormous undertaking - so much so that the only two videos I directed in the last two years were <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phh3oVCtzBg" target="_blank">Geese's Taxes</a> and Where’s My Phone. So now I’m starting to look for the next big project. And in the meantime I’m hoping to do more music videos this spring and summer.• Noel Paul is with FRIEND London in the UK for music videos and commercials; he is repped for music videos by Sam Davey at Hurry Sundown. &nbsp;

Noel Paul

Noel Paul on Mitski's Where's My Phone? video: 'A barrage of exaggerated gestures felt appropriate.'

Mitski-'Where's-My-Phone?'-by-Noel-Paul

Black-Midi--'Sugar/tzu'-by-Noel-Paul

Georgie Cowan-Turner directs a stirring and thought-provoking&nbsp;promo for Paris Paloma.&nbsp;The video for Good Girl follows the director's video for the singer-songwriter's Good Boy in exploring perceptions of femininity&nbsp;and challenging entrenched male behaviour. It also has Paris taking on a very striking persona - in this case, the statue&nbsp;carved by a sculptor (played by actor Richard Armitage) that comes to life.Anchored by painterly, atmospheric cinematography, the video explores ideas of&nbsp;beauty, the pressures of body politics and the history of how women's bodies are often depicted through art. It's also a fast-moving tale with echoes of classic horror fiction.As Paris Paloma as the statue comes to life,&nbsp;then becomes flesh and blood, Cowan-Turner thrusts the viewer&nbsp;into a pulsating montage she takes on Armitage, the camera constantly in motion.&nbsp;With excellent craft and standout performances, it's a powerful visual.[imgtoken data:1]"We wanted to create a video that explores the feeling of being watched and breaking free," Cowan-Turner explains, "sort of embodying the Margaret Atwood quote 'Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it's all a male fantasy… You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman'.&nbsp;"From there we built a video that hints at male artists abusing their muses - the Pygmalion myth turning into our version of Frankenstein. But this time it's just the ‘perfected’ statue woman coming to life of her own accord and eventually becoming a flesh and blood woman, who chooses to eat and exist freely in her own body without only being a product of what others want her to be."[imgtoken data:2]"The incredible Richard Armitage plays our male artist, a figure based around Picasso and Rodin. He creates a woman in his desired image, is terrified when she comes to life then tries to capitalise on it when she becomes her own woman."Through the myth of video we were keen to touch on current issues of men filming women without their consent, the rise of diet culture and cosmetic procedures, online hatred for women’s bodies and dismantling some of the visual styles and films through cinema that have played a part in normalising the male gaze."It’s always so exciting to work with Paris, she is a real storyteller, and voice of a generation as well as being an incredible presence on screen."

Cat Giles

Richard Armitage

Nettwerk Records

Paris Paloma 'Good Girl' by Georgie Cowan-Turner

Paris-Paloma-'Good-Girl'-by-Georgie-Cowan-turner

Maxim Kelly drops his third and final instalment of a trilogy of videos for Archive.The video for City Walls features&nbsp;an anachronistic, AI-generated montage of events, unravelling across a week.&nbsp;Lingering on symbolism and abstract interpretation, the video focuses on stirring snapshots of death, disease and natural disaster, encapsulated in a UK-adjacent environment. Kelly also maintains a tension between drama and absurdity that has been the hallmark of his previous AI-gen Archive videos for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2025/09/11/archive-look-us-maxim-kelly/92546" target="_blank">Look At Us</a> and <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2025/11/26/archive-wake-strange-maxim-kelly/93319" target="_blank">Wake Up Strange</a>.It's a thought-provoking piece, representative of what&nbsp;AI is now able to achieve - whether that's a good or bad thing is for viewers to decide.&nbsp;

Archive 'City Walls' by Maxim Kelly