HANNI EL KHATIB - 'FAMILY' - INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR NICK WALKER

'PG-13' / SLIGHTLY TOO CHEEKY FOR WORK:

No octopi were harmed in the making of this film.

INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR NICK WALKER

Here at Future-Rocker's Bikini Atoll base, a big buzz went round the office over this spectacularly fun video from rising garage rocker Hanni El Khatib. Hanni, an LA resident and product of Filipino and Palestinian heritage, is one of the most exciting Alt Latino artists current on the scene.

The cheeky - and hilarious - promo is directed by LA photographer Nick Walker. We caught up with Nick to find out more.

- Nick, the 'Family' video that you did for HANNI EL KHATIB is one of most stylish & memorable we've seen for a while. As a photographer and film-maker, who are your influences?

- Obviously the legends... Penn, Avedon, Malick. But I think the influences I appreciate the most are the people that I've been fortunate enough to work for, and develop friendships from. Robert Maxwell, Hilary Walsh, Emmett Malloy, and Doug Inglish. They have taught me and supported me so much.

- The promo looks like it was shot in California. Is that where you live?

- Yes, I'm based in LA. Trips to NYC periodically, but I pride myself in being based here.

- Judging by the cast and credits of Hanni's promo, the team you had working with you looked pretty sizeable [ - it included 'octopus wrangler' & 'nutritionist'! ], was this an expensive shoot?

- The video was expensive. But I had a great team behind me, and couldn't have done it without them. Hanni's record label Innovative Leisure is incredibly supportive and made everything come together seamlessly.

- Was the promo influenced by any particular movie / genre? It reminds me of one of Tarantino's homages.

- In the end, the video paid homage to 'Japanese Pinky Violence' films [ - Japan's homegrown grindhouse / exploitation sub-genre ].  I had the idea years ago and developed my own story to what I thought it could be. Once Hanni and the label gave the green light, I did more research in found so many gems in that genre of film.

- The actors are great.

- The producers did a great job in helping cast the actors all locally in LA.

- What's been the reaction, so far?

- The video was really well received and since then, I've been writing treatments for other projects. I'm just planning on staying busy creating new content for both photo and video. 

To see more of Nick's work, click here.