Global production house Partizan has brought director David M. Helman aboard its roster. Best known for his music video and short film fare, Helman had most recently been working independently prior to joining Partizan.
Helman made his first major mark with his debut video, Blu’s “Doinnothin’ which went on to be nominated for Best International Urban Video at the 2012 UKMVAs. Since then, the director has gone on to collaborate with such notable performers as Vince Staples, Joey Bada$$, Dillon Francis & Skrillex, James Vincent McMorrow, Glass Animals, Darkstar, Empress of, Shura, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
In his recent video for Vancouver Sleep Clinic’s “Killing Me To Love You,” Helman creates the visual analog to an ethereal song with mesmerizing shots of a girl hovering as she walks along a desolate road. The serene and empty scapes are a perfect evocation of the ambient musical palette of the track.
Helman’s endeavors outside of the music world have earned considerable recognition as well, including the short film A-Z of Lucky Blue Smith commissioned by i-D Magazine. The highly stylized piece features the teen model phenomenon listing the unique details of his life with rapid-fire pacing.
In 2013, Helman created the documentary short film Lily as part of the TRIBUTE film series for Mainline Films in partnership with Dazed. The portrait of a down-on-her-luck youth in Jamestown, New York, beautifully demonstrates Helman’s strength for telling authentic–and often heartbreaking–human stories.
Next on the books for Helman is another video for rapper Staples, following up their gravity-defying performance film for “Lift Me Up.” This is Helman’s first project released since signing with Partizan, where U.K. import Laura Jones was recently named executive producer of music videos. The addition of Helman since only just taking the reins demonstrates Jones’ knack for cultivating the most promising and cutting-edge talent coming out of the music video world today.
“Since the beginning, Partizan has been ingrained in music culture,” Helman remarked. “I’ve long looked up to iconic Partizan video directors like Michel Gondry so I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of that DNA.”
Partizan maintains offices in Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, São Paulo and the Middle East.
