MUMBAI: Indian filmmaker and musician Pranav Bhasin’s yet-to-be-released music video Screaming on the Fly was announced as one of the official entries for the music video competition at SXSW Film & TV Festival 2023, and will premiere at the festival in March.

The Music Video Competition category is often packed with some of the biggest hits of the year, and this year’s category is no different with music videos featuring Diplo, Little Simz, Mac Miller, alt J, Michael Kiwanuka, Yeah Yeah Yeahs also in the list of selections. Screaming on the Fly – directed by Bhasin – is the only Indian entry.

Founded in 1987 in Austin, SXSW has emerged as the premier destination for creative professionals across the globe and celebrates the convergence of tech, film, music, education, and culture.

Screaming on the Fly by Pranav Bhasin

Bhasin is an accomplished filmmaker – whose shorts Wolf of Chawl Street and New Year’s Eve have won accolades at MAMI, New York No Limits and other festivals around the world – and has even directed music videos for acts like Prateek Kuhad and When Chai Met Toast.

The 26-year-old was drawn to electronic music production in 2019 and has since then put out two EPs, Houseplant, and Great But Not For Me. Written and produced by him, and sung by Rohini Maiti – his frequent collaborator – ‘Screaming on the Fly’ is the young filmmaker and musician’s eighth single.

‘Screaming on the Fly’, is steeped in the concept of excess, and is the story of a girl trying to find satisfaction in a hyper-capitalistic world. Moody atmospheric pop with colourful synth lines accompanied by Rohini’s melancholic voice, interspersed by a decadent drawl, makes ‘Screaming on the Fly’ an earworm.

The music video for the song, directed by Bhasin himself, is deeply reflective and tells the story of an entitled city girl, who wants everything she can possibly own. Even if it means punching your best friend in the face.

“Eternally amused by the world we live in, this was a personal project I had (secretly) been building out for a year,” says Bhasin, who wrote and directed a hugely popular lockdown web series called Cabin Fever in 2020. “People consume excessively off late in hopes of filling a void. This is a satire on buying more and feeling less. After writing, composing and producing the song, I decided to shoot the visuals for it myself. I’m stoked that we’re premiering at SXSW. I’ve been an admirer of the festival for a long time and will be attending for the first time this March,” he adds.

Produced by Jugaad Motion Pictures – whose Last Film Show was also recently shortlisted for the Oscars – the music video is another win for a company that is always empowering storytellers.

Jugaad’s Dheer Momaya, executive producer on Screaming on the Fly, was equally elated at the video’s selection for SXSW. “SXSW is one of the biggest and most celebrated film and arts festivals in the world, and for music videos there could be no bigger stage,” he says, adding, “Pranav is an auteur so much so that he now even composes music to tell his stories. In a world where young talent is adopting multi-hyphenated disciplines, I’m glad that Jugaad gets to house Pranav’s explorations in music and film.”