Skinny Pelembe 'Don't Be Another' by Jai Moseley
Rob Ulitski - 5th Oct 2023
Jai Moseley directs a thought-provoking narrative video for Skinny Pelembe's Don't Be Another, introducing us to Hilario, a farm worker in California, as he faces the transition from boy to man across a series of evocative vignettes.
Grappling with the responsibilities and the constraints of his environment, Hilario resorts to familiar coping mechanisms. It's a stirring visual, a beautifully observed and deftly executed film that offers a convincing portrait of a young man struggling with the reality of his life.
"When I listened to Doya’s (Skinny Pelembe) track for the first time, I was really gripped by this very specific tale of human imperfection," Moseley explains. "It had this strong feeling for an unquenchable thirst for a better life. I knew instantly, the video would have to be one where the experience and feeling for a complicated life, overruled all else.
"The choice of subject matter comes from the meshing of this, with a story I had read through the discovery of photographer Matt Black’s work. The story was of a field worker named Hilario Guzman, who had crossed the border into the US with his family. One day, after working in the fields, picking 250 trays of grapes over 10 hours (and making only $50), he crashed his truck drunk into an alfalfa field. It was said, in Hilario’s culture, when you die in the fields your soul gets stuck there.
"Hilario’s story felt like a poignant commentary that echoed the dilemmas of our track. With this in mind, we headed up to the farming towns of the Central Valley, to find an organisation we could consult and make this story in partnership with.
"Immense gratitude needs to be expressed for Re-establishing Stratford, a charity dedicated to empowering and re-establishing the once prosperous community of Stratford, CA. To the two founders, Ramon Chavez and Robert Isquierdo. To Robert’s parents, John and Gloria Nimmons, the town of Stratford, CA, and Kevin Clark at Screens. Thank you all so much."
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Rob Ulitski - 5th Oct 2023
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Credits
Production/Creative
- Director
- Jai Moseley
- Producer
- Kevin Clark
- Production Company
- S
- Service Company
- Screens
- Executive Producer
- Elizabeth Doonan
- SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR
- GEORGIE DALE
Camera
- Director of Photography
- Mayer Chalom
- Focus Puller
- Jake Wolfert
Art
- Production designer
- Mark Smith
Editorial
- Editor
- Travis Moore
- Editing company
- Exile Edit
Grading
- Colour Producer
- Adam Vevang
- Colourist
- Mikey Pehanich
- Colour grade company
- Blacksmiths
VFX
- VFX
- Tanner Merrill
- Post production company
- House Post
Agent
- Director's Representation
- Polly Millner
- Director's Representation
- Sam Davey
Commission
- Label
- Partisan Records
Rob Ulitski - 5th Oct 2023