Ferkesh: Mahmoud Ashria (Walgz - Sana)

Sudanese music video director Mahmoud Ashria joins us on the episode of Ferkesh, where he talks about his approach to conceptualizing a music video’s aesthetic by tapping into the themes explored within the music itself.

In the music video for Walgz’s ‘Sana’ (produced by B-Element), Ashria developed a striking visual identity for the video, where he presents Walgz in isolation throughout the city of Riyadh, making use of spacious locations such as an empty parking lot, a smoke-filled basketball court, and a spiral car ramp, complimenting the track’s moodiness with late-night shots of the distant city lights.

Ashria also talks about some of the problems he faced while working on the video, such as not being able to find a smoke machine on the day of the shoot, and resorting to a non-toxic pesticide spray instead to achieve the same effect.

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: