They shot an alien in Kosovo from behind a bush, on a long lens
A deliberately grey retro-sci-fi world, guerrilla street scenes, and a mating dance choreographed to be bad on purpose. The director is unusually clear that the flatness is the point.
Play on YouTubeYĪN YĪN make cosmic disco with Southeast Asian motifs, from Maastricht, on Glitterbeat. For "In Search of Yang", director Sharif Abd el Mawla built something that refuses every instinct a sci-fi promo usually has.
Together with my DP Daan Bukman and production designer Jose Tirado, we laid out a visual world that draws inspiration from Kieslowski's work. I wanted to create a tragic, comedic visual arena. One that is melancholic, absurd and timeless at the same time.
Note that he credits the DP and the production designer inside his own description of the idea, which is rarer than it should be.
Grey on purpose
The world is muted and anonymous, with Under the Skin as a key reference: an alien antihero falls from the sky and respawns. It was shot guerrilla-style in Kosovo, with street scenes captured on a long lens from behind a bush, which is a production method and an aesthetic at the same time. Distance flattens the image and makes the passers-by real.
The dance is meant to be bad
I wanted the dance to be clunky, imperfect, but genuine.
The alien's language is a primal mating dance, choreographed by Mès Lesne to be awkward. Choreography that is deliberately not good is very hard to get past everyone who has to approve a video, and it is the reason this one is funny rather than solemn.
Credits
Director Sharif Abd el Mawla. Cinematographer Daan Bukman. Production designer Jose Tirado. Choreographer Mès Lesne. Art director Blerim Shala. Styling Alma Krasnigi. Executive producer Saskia Kok. Cast Sam Spruell and Erza Sejdiu. Album Yatta!, 23 January 2026, Glitterbeat.
The quotes here are the director speaking, not the band.
A collaborator missing from this page? Tell us who made it and we will credit them.
