Jake Duncan directs a thought-provoking and highly personal promo for Belfast-based singer-songwriter Joshua Burnside.    

The video for It's Not Going To Be Okay is a character study of a middle-aged man - played by Duncan's father, known as 'Sy Tuck' - living an isolated existence in the countryside, taking us through his daily routines, captured in cinematic scenes and lo-fi cutaways. And this intimate portrait through everyday moments also offers hints at a complicated past. 

"When Simon was younger he trained as an actor, but for various reasons, opportunities were repeatedly disrupted," explains Duncan. "The film looks at some of the song’s broader themes through the intimacy of one person’s life: regret, resilience, isolation and the possibility of change.”

"He spent much of his adult life in Eastern Europe and South Asia, before returning home and converting an old horsebox that he’s lived in for the past thirteen years. He now works as a taxi driver, which has become increasingly difficult to sustain amid the rising cost of living and declining hourly earnings.

"Rather than trying to match the song’s scale, I wanted to locate its themes within one life. I made the project largely alone over three separate trips, directing, shooting and editing. I cast an actor (Grace Gallagher) to play his daughter in one short scene, but much of what appears in the video comes directly from his everyday life. Some sequences are entirely documentary, while others are slightly dramatised.”

"The process has been extremely cathartic. I’m glad that we were able to make this together and that such an incredible piece of songwriting gave me the impetus to explore his life through the film."