FRIEND

Executive Producer

Luke Tierney

French-Cuban sister duo Ibeyi scale the desert with Jorja Smith, in&nbsp;Lucrecia Taormina's captivating promo for Lavender and Red Roses.&nbsp;We see the artists trek through the midst of a sandy landscape, following the line of a rope to a well in the middle of the desert. They pour a jug full of lavender and red rose petals into the well - where, at the bottom a&nbsp;mysterious masked man digs further downwards.&nbsp;Arguably this&nbsp;abstract narrative explores themes of femininity and divine energy, suggesting it is time to 'cut the cord', and stop relying on women to pull up men who are not actively helping themselves or looking for ways to improve their own situation. But&nbsp;the&nbsp;beauty of the visual, the magic of Taormina' concept,&nbsp;lies in the various ways in which to read the unfolding action.[imgtoken data:1]Taormina weaves this ambiguous and metaphorical&nbsp;tale in her characteristic&nbsp;hyperreal style - not in a real desert, we suspect, but a very convincing studio and VFX-created approximation of one. A certain episode of&nbsp;Squid Game&nbsp;may also springs to mind while watching this too.[imgtoken data:2]Once distracted by the petals, the man stops digging, and grabs the rope.&nbsp;Initially, the women&nbsp;pull with all their strength, to help&nbsp;him to climb up, but... then the rope is cut.[imgtoken data:3]

United Kingdom

Francesca Di Mottola

Holly Shearn

Joshua Gochez

Oliver Whitworth

Holly Wood

Lucrecia Taormina

Joshua Noon

Aliyah Otchere

Krunal Saardrani

John Lynch

Danny Herman

Jack Green

Cassius McCabe

Jeffrey Vine

Max Lincoln

Joseph Taylor

Assembly Rooms

Luke Morrison

Electric Theatre Company

Michelle Kruger

Wicked Pixels

Carl Jeppe

XL Recordings

Lane Casting

Alternative

Ibeyi ft Jorja Smith 'Lavender And Red Roses' by Lucrecia Taormina

Ibeyi--'Lavender-And-Roses'-by-Lucrecia-Taormina

Remi Laudat directs a visual extravaganza for Amaarae, with a little help from&nbsp;Kali Uchis and Moliy.The video for&nbsp;Sad Girlz Luv Money is a tongue-in-cheek celebration of women in control, inspired by&nbsp;Nineties pop videos.Inside the Sad Girlz Inc tower, the scammers and hustlers are out there living their best lives, making their mullah, swimming in cash, and making any unwelcome male visitor pay for their sins.With a hyperstylised neon aesthetic, the video blends retro-futurism with contemporary digital flair, and the assured performances of Amaarae, Kali Uchis and Moliy - captured in shoots in London,&nbsp;Los Angeles and New York - take the concept to the next level.[imgtoken data:1]

Remi Laudat

Mouthpiece

Academy Films

Nicola Sheppard

Kaname Onoyama

Maurizio Von Trapp

Lexi Kiddo

Philips Nortey

Kiira Harper

Thomas Mangham

Bruce Langfield

Black Kite Studios

James Marshall

Hanan Cher

Emma Friend

Kate McMillan

Matt Allsop

Krunal Saadrani

Studio Augmenta

Kash Powell

Amaarae ft Kali Uchis & Moliy 'Sad Girlz Luv Money' by Remi Laudat

Amaarae - SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY Remix ft Kali Uchis & Moliy (Official Video)

BWTV directs an evocative promo for Bonobo's Shadows, featuring Jordan Rakei, focusing on abstract imagery and graphics.&nbsp;Exploring the power of memory and everyday experience through patterns, shadow and light, the video transcends a traditional structure, instead focusing on repetitive sequences and brief, fleeting moments in time.[imgtoken data:1]"Shadows are reflections of ourselves, our movements, whims, wants and urges - like memories happening in the present; like scars that leave no mark," comment Liam Achaibou and Ryan Vernava - aka BWTV. "They are a creeping measure of passing moments: alive, immediate and fleeting. They stretch and bend to the world around them and they thicken and fade as the days roll on."We wanted to make a video that meditates on these ideas; using found captured and created material to investigate the patterns and visual metaphors that emerge as we experimented with the footage."Using the emotional language of the shadow we began to build sequences and patterns reminiscent of how one might compose a multitrack piece of music. Layers, lots of layers..." &nbsp;

BWTV

Daniel Davies

Alex Gregory

No.8

Carrie Sutton

John Moule

Ninja Tune

Dance

Electronic

Bonobo ft Jordan Rakei 'Shadows' by BWTV

Bonobo - 'Shadows (feat. Jordan Rakei)' (Official Video)

Deadpool&nbsp;actor&nbsp;Ed Skrein takes on directing duties in this&nbsp;high-concept sci-fi vision for CASisDEAD, featuring La Roux -&nbsp;who also features in the Blade Runner-esque narrative.&nbsp;Exploring experimentation and futuristic worlds, the video is masterfully conceptualised, with mesmerising art direction and top-notch prosthetic work, care of&nbsp;Stuart Richards and&nbsp;Vee Holt.[imgtoken data:1]Seamless VFX stitch&nbsp;the ambitious visuals together, balancing the haunting artificiality of the world on-screen, with the recognisable mementos of the world we currently inhabit.&nbsp;The glossy aesthetic also feels gritty and alien at times, as if a parallel world is being captured with anachronistic technology, which elevates the unsettling concept and themes.&nbsp;

Ed Skrein

Joseph J Goldman

Hugo Holford

Chris Malin

Chris Dowling

Stuart Richards

Claire Yurika Davis

Vee Holt

Charlie Reddie

Homespun

Electric Theatre Collective

Dom Binegger  Digital Ridge

Millie Rose

Hip Hop

Electronica

CASisDEAD ft La Roux 'Park Assist' by Ed Skrein

Casisdead-Ft.-La-Roux-'Park-Assit'-by-Ed-Skrein

Siah is under heavy&nbsp;surveillance in Lucrecia Taormina's video for Ain't Stoppin.&nbsp;Set in a&nbsp;café, - with an enigmatic&nbsp;voiceover which tops and tails the concept - the video presents&nbsp;an abstract, Tarantino-esque vignette following a wanted man.&nbsp;Siah sets up shop at the café, and as he orders a&nbsp;smorgasbord of coffee and snacks, a group of twenty men slowly filter in to keep a close eye on his every movement.&nbsp;Switching from the overtly surreal aesthetic seen in recent videos for Ashnikko and Bree Runway, this video still has a heavy dose of Taormina's weird fantasy vibes, and works brilliantly as a standalone visual for the track.&nbsp;And of course, if you haven't heard our talk with Lucrecia Taormina yet as part of The Promonews Podcast, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/537iE9VbGYrFMlMwZJIAM1?si=WXM7BDjsQAKwvPW6EPQHcg&amp;dl_branch=1">be sure to click through and take a listen!&nbsp;</a>

Pilar Cartro Benavides

Bradley Boorman

Rik Burnell

Gabriel Jones

Joshua Dadson

John Letsinger

Benjamin Leggett

Frida Phillips

Sophie Ebbs

Dave Bullivant

Siah 'Ain't Stoppin' by Lucrecia Taormina

Ain't-Stoppin-'Siah'-by-Lucrecia-Taormina

Lucrecia Taormina laments consumerism and shopping fever, in the darkly comedic promo for Steven Wilson's Personal Shopper.&nbsp;In a sleek shopping mall, we are introduced to a man who has just received a huge wad of fifty pound notes. Ready to shop until he drops - quite literally - he visits different shops and counters, swapping parts of his body for bling and new things.&nbsp;As the shopper&nbsp;exchanges&nbsp;increasingly important parts of himself, from fingers to eyes to lips, the concept only gets more absurd and out of control, with Taormina's flair for the unusual remaining utterly engaging throughout. There's a terrific performance by Robert Lane as the deluded consumer, while DoP&nbsp;Pieter Snyman creates a hyperreal aesthetic through soft beauty lighting and clinical colour palettes of white and shiny metal.&nbsp;If Apple did body horror adverts, this is what they would look like. Fascinating work.&nbsp;

Ty Hack

Pieter Snyman

Phil Heron

Rob Hawkins

Peter Bishop

Oliver Hogan

Flora Huddart

Natasha Lawes

Andrea Gomez Anzola

Meg Thorne

Richard Fearon

Crystal Spotlight

Robert Lane

Natalia Maus

Ash Teague

Doug Walshe

Progressive Art Rock

Steven Wilson 'Personal Shopper' by Lucrecia Taormina

Steven-Wilson-'Personal-Shopper'-by-Lucrecia-Taormina

Lucrecia Taormina brings her trademark off-the-wall style to one of the most exciting collabs of the year, with Bree Runway ft Missy Elliott's ATM.&nbsp;Opening on-stage in an opulent club cum&nbsp;casino, Bree dives right into some firey choreography, before we are introduced to a man with an ATM for a head... So far, so Taormina.&nbsp;The concept is completely absurd, paying homage to the oddball concepts of the late 90's and early 2000's, making the iconic Missy Elliott's inclusion that much more appropriate.&nbsp;Top-notch across the board, this is one of the most exciting visuals to come out of the last year in lockdown, and a taste of something more exuberant, risky and bold.&nbsp;And if there's one frame that stays with you, it has to be Bree's gigantic mouth firing out tonnes of dollar notes...

Nico Poulsson

Ali Baines

Josh Tilly

Steve Cameron

Elizabeth El-Kadhi Brown

Holly Adamwhite

Seraiah

Paige Cole

The Quarry

Primary Vfx

Anique Cox

James Hackett

Venner Huggings

Bree Runway Ft. Missy Elliott 'ATM' by Lucrecia Taormina

Bree-Runway-Ft.-Missy-Elliott-'Atm'-by-Lucrecia-Taormina

Novelist is unphased by the drama circling around him, in Ehsan's fiery promo for Calm.&nbsp;Shot last year and released to coincide with&nbsp;the grime star's 24th birthday, the hypnotic visual uses&nbsp;burning film overlays and erratic editing to convey a growing sense of drama and suspense as Novelist casually walks the nighttime streets of London.&nbsp;Ehsan intercuts Novelist's unruffled presence with cutaways of curious, and increasingly anxious bystanders, aware that something big is about to ignite.&nbsp;It's a mesmerising visual, elevated by the artist's confident performance, DoP&nbsp;James Henry's camerawork, and Ehsan's fusion of gritty reality with otherworldly elements.&nbsp;A very different beast to&nbsp;the director's comedic video for&nbsp;Unknown P's Piers Morgan, released late&nbsp;last last year, but just as impressive.

Ehsan

Nicole Powell

James Henry

Bobbie Cousins

Jay Duong

Lucian Barnard

Jonny Thorpe

Glassworks

Josha Eiffel

Rosie Litterick

Brendan Jenkins

Ken Sheif

Grime

Novelist 'Calm' by Ehsan

Novelist-'Calm'-by-Ehsan

Zhang + Knight direct an ethereal promo for London Grammar's Lose Your Head.&nbsp;In the studio-set video,&nbsp;we see vocalist&nbsp;Hannah Reid on a sinking ship, as she hears the siren song of the&nbsp;sea - created from a giant piece of silk-like fabric -&nbsp;beneath her. She leaves her comfort zone behind,&nbsp;walking among the waves and eventually sinking into their embrace.The pastel-washed colour scheme&nbsp;and minimalist design - reprised from the directing duo's acclaimed videos for <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2019/10/29/eden-projector-zhang-knight/61573" target="_blank">Eden</a> and <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2020/08/25/meryem-aboulouafa-deeply-zhang-knight/66201" target="_blank">Meryem Aboulouafa</a> - are anchored by a mesmerising&nbsp;performance from Reid, who thrives in the soft surreality&nbsp;of the concept.&nbsp;

Zhang + Knight

Ivan Ivanov

Matthias Koenigswieser

Lora Venkova

Taff Williamson

Jack Williams

The Assembly Rooms

Daniel de Vue

Nu Boyana Fx

Crowns & Owls

Ministry of Sound

London Grammar 'Lose Your Head' by Zhang + Knight

London-Grammar-'Lose-Your-Head'-by-Zhang-+-Knight

Charlie Robins's engrossing video for Imanbek &amp; Goodboys slips gracefully from documentary to drama to full-blown surrealism in this story of a high-stakes horse race within the traveller community.With access to a hidden world, courtesy of the Frankham family, scions of the London traveller community, Robins chronicles the bond between a young man and his horse, and the conflict with a rival that leads to a thrilling event that could only happen within the community - a horse-and-trap race down an English country lane.&nbsp;Robins and his DoP Pieter Snyman deliver this action sequence with thrilling camerawork, and then add a layer of impressionistic visuals that elevates the piece to another level. That makes this a very rewarding, genuinely cinematic experience.

Charlie Robins

Josh Tue

Kitt Sullivan

Ryan Monteith

Jim Wright

Ark Studios

Paul Harrison

Freefolk

Ben Eeley

Imanbek, Goodboys 'Goodbye' by Charlie Robins

Imanbek,-Goodboys-'Goodbye'-by-Charlie-Robins

Ehsan directs a banger for Unknown P, the world's poshest drill rapper - the creation&nbsp;of comedian Munya Chawawa -&nbsp;depicting a bombastic food fight among the vile&nbsp;upper classes.Opening with a group of well-to-do chums having breakfast, the video cuts between a&nbsp;Good Morning Britain&nbsp;parody on a TV - with Unknown P in the eponymous Piers Morgan role -&nbsp;and an unexpected&nbsp;narrative full of quirky characters and hilarious props... and plenty of fancy baked goods.Ehsan has been making an impact in commercials but here he shows that his explosive take on visual comedy is well suited to music videos.&nbsp;The film is technically brilliant throughout, with a terrific edit by Lucian Barnard. And the sound design deserves a special shoutout for capturing an anachronistic mix of old martial art&nbsp;film sound effects&nbsp;and contemporary action foley.

Xiaoxuan Zhu

Marcus Autelli

Darius Williams

Elliot Poyzer

Johnjoe Besagni

Elena Muntoni

Connor Gaffe

Kate O’shea

Ciara Mcdonald

Tom Mangham

The Mill

Charlie Morris

Dan Curwin

Atlantic Records

Justin Theodore

Miles Lacey

drill

Unknown P 'Piers Morgan' by Ehsan

Unknown-P-'Piers-Morgan'-by-Ehsan

Chirolles Khalil tells the story of the trials and tribulations of a young couple starting on their life together, in&nbsp;the promo for Preditah featuring WSTRN.&nbsp;Presented as a series of day-in-the-life vignettes, the visual follows a couple as they move from the early days of bliss to the regularity of life as they settle down,&nbsp;and the obstacles&nbsp;to their future happiness - largely from the female perspective.&nbsp;Khalil presents this familiar situation with sensitivity, and makes it both engaging and thought-provoking. Olivia Lockhart and&nbsp;Aden Dzuda give standout performances as the couple who you would love to succeed, leading an excellent ensemble cast.&nbsp;DoP&nbsp;Fola Abatan uses a contrast&nbsp;of relaxed, steady camera movement and frenetic, blink-and-you'll-miss-it&nbsp;cutaways, to reinforce the emotions that play out on screen. Ultimately this is a universal story that has been impressively told.

Luke Tierney

Executive Producer

Featured Work