Michael Kiwanuka’s trigger warning

In the wake of recent fatal shootings in the UK and ongoing gun crime in the US, this music video for Mercury Prize-winner Kiwanuka sets a game of Russian roulette as the backdrop for the emotional song. 

Shot on 16mm, the film has a raw immersive approach as Youmans interweaves the perspectives of four teenagers, each experiencing their lives flash before their eyes before pulling the trigger. 

The film explores the phenomenon of DMT – or dimethyltryptamine, a hallucinogenic drug that’s said to be the same chemical that the brain releases at death, birth and sometimes during dreaming.

Youmans commented: “This story is a cautionary tale about our nation’s easy access to, and fascination with, guns. We follow teenagers playing Russian roulette with a parent’s revolver. With each pull of the trigger, the chance of death rises and each player deals with varying levels of fear. 

"Overconfidence and recklessness underline the core themes of this film: life is beautiful and precious, and conformity and exhibitionism can be deadly. Though they’re fearful, they pull the trigger anyway, bowing to the pressure of the moment.”