Our Selects: Series is an interview format we run with film and video directors. We ask directors to name key and influential works under the film, campaign, and music video categories. The series aims to broaden horizons of reference and acknowledge works from the back catalog.

You can check out one of Taz’s music videos below:

’25’ Kojey Radical feat. KZ (2019)

Directed by Taz Tron Delix

Below are Taz’s picks and what she had to say:

Essential: Films

I love weird and wonderful worlds. It might be something about the escapism I enjoy the most or the imagination & craftsmanship to make dreams tangible but these films leave me feeling changed and full of inspiration. And these are some of the films that have had the biggest impact on me.

The Holy Mountain (1973)

Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky

Alejandro Jodorowsky is a complete genius in my eyes and holy mountain is one of his greatest achievements. This film is the super cult film of all cult films. A hieroglyphic mind hack of symbology & archetypes that only Jodorowsky knows how to weave. The powerful imagery & bizarre scenes left a lasting imprint on my mind that I can’t shake.

Brazil (1985)

Directed by Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam is another wizard in the mix that conjures up these fantastic worlds that feel so real oozing imagination & style. Brazil must of been one of the first films I remember watching at a young at age and thinking if I was to make a film it would be just like this, and this was at a time when I had no idea I would end up in the film world.

Holy Motors (2012)

Directed by Leos Carax

Holy Motors is definitely up there as one of my favourite films of all time, it’s the only Leos Carax film I’ve ever watched but it’s the most crazy odyssey of worlds and emotions it even breaks into full on musical at one point. Everytime I watch it, it makes me feel like I’m actually tripping, lost in a lucid dream I completely understand yet have no idea what’s going on. The rich imagery pushes a subconscious nerve that makes my imagination spiral out of control. I find myself forming my own subtext & narrative as my brain dances around & tries to make rational sense of what I’m experiencing. I think there’s something very powerful & personal about this type of cinema that makes the audience fill in the blanks.

Essential: Music Videos

Ay! I’m definitely an expert consumer of music videos, and spent a long time as a teenager watching all the music channels and some of my favourite directors of all time are the Gondrys’, Cunninghams’ and Jonezs’ of the world but I wanted to make a list of videos that have influenced & inspired me as a filmmaker in the last decade to push the art form.

‘Hate or Glory’ Gesaffelstein (2013)

Directed by Fleur Fortuné & Manu Cossu

Fleur & Manu were an unstoppable force and a real eye opener for me, every time they put out a new video I was in complete awe. It started to make me think about how you could make these big cinematic worlds in music videos that didn’t need to be about a charismatic artist performing yet they still hold the values of a great music video being intrinsically entangled with the music.

‘#CAKE’ Shabazz Palaces (2014)

Directed by Hiro Murai

Yes Shabazz Palaces have had some incredible videos and Hiro Murai has one of the strongest catalogs of this decade so for me this was a dream team. I always come back to this video, I love the dark gritty tone and moving lights that shift the shadows. It is a perfect flow of consciousness that paints a world of mystery. You can really tell Hiro loves what he does, the attention to detail is inspiring and leaves you wanting more.

‘Coronus, The Terminator’ Flying Lotus (2015)

Directed by Young Replicant

I keep saying this in interviews but I’m a big Fly Lo fan and it would be a dream to do a music video with him one day, I used to watch ‘MmmHmm’ & ‘Zodiac shit’ on repeat so it has always been special to me to see a new Fly Lo visual. Kahlil Joseph’s ‘Until The Quiet Comes’ was a monumental piece in this decade that definitely changed the game but it’s Young Replicant’s characters of the men covered in white dust or powder that I can’t get enough of. There’s something about the way they look and the way they move to the music that is pure magic.

Essential: Commercials

It’s an exciting time for adverts and campaigns, we see the lines start to blur as brands are starting to support every form of artist or activism going and aligning themselves ever closer with culture & lifestyle. I wanted to select some of the big ones that have resonated with me.

‘Original is Never Finished’ Adidas (2017)

Directed by Terence Neale

When I first saw this advert it got me really excited, it felt like a massive power move by Adidas moving into their own domain away from the shadow of Nike, talking directly to the creators & the originators of all art forms. Cleverly remixing Frank Sinatra to reinforce the message of taking from the past but reinventing in your way, it connects deep to the self-made creative of today. Combined with an all star line up of icons, big epic dystopian worlds and broken down solo spots, what more could you want.

‘Go With The Flaw’ Diesel (2017)

Directed by François Rousselet

I’m in love with this advert, I guess yearly big global campaigns are executing their big spends and you can see and feel it on the camera. The concept’s great and executed to perfection leaving it feeling effortless.

‘Making Waves’ Yamaha (2018)

Directed by Maceo Frost

I really enjoy Maceo Frost’s work and this is a standout piece for me, cinematically it’s beautiful, the score & sound design is technically so ambitious and they killed it. I feel like I’m in every moment as we flow and crash through different scenes.

Director