For his latest video, Ojay Morgan, aka hip hop artist Zebra Katz, enlisted Danish director Ada Bligaard Søby—known for her work with artists including Trentmøller and Devendra Banhart—for a cinematic interpretation of the experiences of refugees living in and around her native Copenhagen. Here, she talks about the project:
“The idea for this video was born from the most haunting track that ever landing in my inbox. It inspired this film featuring the anxiety of immigrants fueled by fear in search of sanctuary, and being searched for while they are in this place between places. The genius Aartcast in Copenhagen orchestrated an open casting for immigrants and refugees currently living in Denmark.
“A bunch of kids showed up and they allowed me to pick their brains for details about their journeys from Africa and the Middle East through Europe. Based on these dark reports of being in the hands of criminal human traffickers, intense hunger and basically living their worst nightmares, I wrote the story for the video.
“For two nights, we filmed in the forest surrounding Copenhagen and the cast bravely re-lived their experiences, participating in the video as actors and actresses.”