Hannan Hussain: Making Music Videos Cinematic Again

Hannan Hussain is officially on our radar. Best known for directing the music video to Clipse’s track “So Be It”, the Brooklyn-based creative recently earned a nomination for Best Music Video at the 2026 Grammys, making him the first Pakistani to land in this category.

Behind the scenes, however, his vision holds a multitude more stories. The director and photographer creates uniquely conceptual work, drawing on his influences while finding an honest texture for each narrative. Refusing to be flattened into one box, Hussain leans into the quiet, the unnoticed, the intimate, inevitably creating a cinematic language that makes audiences feel something.

What inspired you to start doing what you do?
I come from a family that saw success as something stable and measurable. Doctor, engineer, lawyer—I never really fit that mould. Since I was a kid, I’d film or draw things that just felt right to me. It started as a way to understand the world and turned into a language of its own.

Who are your influences and inspirations?
La Haine was the first film that really hit me. It was the first arthouse film I’d seen, and made me really look at films as artistic; it felt alive and human. Children of Men and Incendies showed me how emotion and scale can exist together. Kiarostami’s films taught me patience and how to blur what’s real and what’s imagined. I pull a lot from old photography books and design, too. Vintage print really speaks to me.

What is the defining moment in your career so far?
Probably the Clipse project. It felt like everything clicked—the tone, the emotion, the focus. It felt like the epitome of the work I was trying to do, and it was a big moment for the 12-year-old version of myself. Having said that, I don’t really think I’ve had one big moment. Every project feels like a step forward, a step in the direction I see myself taking.

What change are you hoping to drive with your work?
I want to show that stories from our part of the world don’t need to be explained or simplified. They can be cinematic, quiet, emotional, and still reach people everywhere. I care about feeling more than spectacle; I’d rather people feel my work than understand it.

What fuels your creative work or process?
Observation. I like noticing things that most overlook: a certain light, a sound, someone’s body language.

How do you hope to see the SWANA region’s creative and cultural scene evolve in the coming years?
It’s already evolving in powerful ways. I just hope people keep trusting their instincts. The best work I’ve seen comes from collaboration, not competition. There’s something special happening when artists across cities and mediums start building together.

What would you like to see yourself ultimately achieving or reshaping with your practice?
I want to build a body of work that feels timeless, something that lasts beyond the moment. The goal is to make films that people come back to and still feel something real. But I’m in no rush. I just want to keep growing and stay true to what got me here.