Ferkesh: Amr El Mahdi & Mina Ezzat (Féras Chatila - Petty As I Want)

In this episode, Egyptian director Amr El Mahdi and DOP Mina Ezzat tell us how they achieved a surreal atmosphere and layered narrative in the music video for Féras Chatila and Baraka’s ‘Petty As I Want’.

El Mahdi explains that his biggest challenge was striking a balance between the comedic undertones of the storyline and the unsettling vibe of the track. He achieved this by adding layers of subtext to parts in the video where singer-songwriter Féras Chatila and music producer Baraka go back and forth pranking one another, such as the the barber shop scene, in which El Mahdi portrays Baraka as a personification of the thoughts Féras is struggling with in the track’s lyrics.

DOP Mina Ezzat also sheds light on the visual references of the clip, stating that the team looked to the Fujifilm X-H2S and the Kodak 500T in order to achieve a vintage and dramatic look.

Ferkesh is SceneNoise’s series that focuses on the exceptional work of directors within the MENA music industry. As music videos have become such a crucial part of an artists’ success, we want to spotlight the people who have been part of creating iconic content seen by millions of fans.

Watch the video here: