MRCY 'Flicker' by Dumas Haddad

Promonews - 5th June 2025
Dumas Haddad helms a cinematic feat for British neo-soul duo MRCY, combining a thrilling dance performance with the artists in an intriguing labyrinth-like space.
Haddad bends reality in the video for Flicker, as a man - dancer Stefano Saa - unravels with hypnotic physicality inside this remarkable location where doors lead nowhere and hallways fold into themselves. Reality flickers, space and time twist in this cinematic hall of mirrors, pulling the dancer deeper into chaos.
Shot through striking wide-angle lenses, the film slips between slow-motion dissociation and bursts of frantic movement. The building in which its set is a mutating, liminal prison of light, geometry, and eerie loops - and becomes a character in itself in the video.
With superb cinematography by Courtney Bennett and grade by Thomas Kumeling, it's a substantial achievement which develops an atmosphere of Kubrickian unease with the sporadic appearance of additional characters and creatures adding to the constant disorientation of the central character.
And amid the chaos, Haddad also creates an appealing visual showcase for the musical talents of the band, as the action continually pulses with the track's beat. Hypnotic as its surreal, it's a very welcome return to music videos.
Promonews - 5th June 2025
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Credits
Production/Creative
- Director
- DH
- Producer
- Shan Phearon
- Creative Director
- Harris Elliot
- Executive Producer
- Shan Phearon
- 1st AD
- Mitch Kalisa
Camera
- Director of Photography
- Courtney Bennett
- Focus Puller
- Daniel Deighton
- 2nd AC
- Fabienne Piolini-Castle
- Steadicam
- Murray Boden
- Spark
- George Castle
Lighting/Grip
- Gaffer
- Jonny Boomer
- Spark
- George Castle
Art
- Production designer
- Ranya Refaey
- Art Assistants
- Esme Gartside, Bonnie Hamilton
Wardrobe
- Stylist
- Tate Abbott
- Hair
- Kreszend Sackey
- Wardrobe Assistants
- Lauren Amie Pariola Birch, Setyana Demissie
Choreography
- Choreographer
- Theophilus Bailey
Casting
- Lead Dancer
- Stefano Saa
- Extras
- Angel Johnson, Edward Sonny Forster, Tariq Lowe, Tony Thomas, Amaka
Editorial
- Editor
- DH
Grading
- Colour Producer
- Morgan Faverty
- Colourist
- Thomas Kumeling
- Colour grade company
- D
Commission
- Commissioner
- Harris Elliot
- Label
- Dead Oceans / Secretly Group
Misc
- DoP's representation
- WPA
Promonews - 5th June 2025