Director, singer-songwriter and actor Moses Sumney has joined production company Serial Pictures for commercials, branded entertainment and music video representation. This marks his first time being represented as a director.
While Sumney’s work defies expectation, genre and categorization, a consistent theme across his creative explorations in the worlds of film and music is his assertion that the undefinable still exists and dwelling in it is an act of resistance.
Akin to his upbringing between Southern California and Ghana, his work migrates seamlessly through genre and disciplines. He has directed many of his own music videos, as well as for artists and designers like Thom Browne and magazine platform i-D.
His latest release, the self-directed music video for his new single “Vintage,” bears the hallmarks of his past directorial work–the auteurial lushness of his 2021 live concert film Blackalachia, where he showcased his mastery of cinematic spectacle with angular choreography and songs performed acrobatically mid-air; and the comedic surrealism of “Cut Me,” and the kinetic physicality of “Virile” (a standout from his second album "græ").
In close collaboration with Sumney and cinematographer Marcell Rév (Euphoria, Malcolm & Marie, Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers”), Kodak supported the music video with a yet-to-be-released and never-before-used motion picture stock, which is similar to a beloved professional still photography film.
“Moses is a creative force–his culture-bending talent and emotive explorations, with a focus on a meditative connection to the human condition, pushes boundaries through cinematic and sonic experiences,” said Serial Pictures founder Violaine Etienne. “Moses is a boundless inspiration for us, and we are thrilled to bring his visionary talent to Serial Pictures.”
Sumney said, “I am excited to join Serial Pictures, whose prioritization of an intimate work process matches the creative-forward standard I have strived to cultivate as I foray deeper into filmmaking.”
About the single, he shared, “‘Vintage’ is me sliding into the music I probably listen to most these days–progressive R&B. I crafted the video as a callback to the ‘90s/2000s clips of my childhood, when men weren’t afraid to beg and plead. I am once again begging to join the pantheon of great yearners: K-Ci & Jojo, Omarion, Ray J, Jodeci, Jagged Edge. Desire has always been at the core of my work; now the desire has a little shimmering shimmy to it.”
Sumney’s music videos have been lauded by SXSW, the UKMVAs, the Webby and Camerimage awards; and his albums have topped the critics’ lists of The New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone.
He has also starred in major campaigns for Calvin Klein and Burberry, and the cinematic flare of his videos led him to act in two A24 productions, the second–his film debut in MaXXXine–premieres this summer.
