UK Music Video Awards 2022: Nominations revealed

Adele, Arlo Parks, alt-J, black midi, FKA twigs, Florence + The Machine, Gorillaz, IDLES, Jeshi, Kylie Minogue & Jessie Ware, Little Simz, Loyle Carner, Wet Leg and Yard Act are among the British artists who have notched multiple nominations for their music videos and other visual projects at this year’s UK Music Video Awards, in the shortlists announced on 28th September. 

International artists Kendrick Lamar, Doechii, Lil Nas X, Pharrell (ft 21 Savage & Tyler The Creator), Stromae and Tove Lo also feature with multiple nods in this year’s list of nominations for over 30 awards, celebrating the best work in music videos in the UK and around the world, and the creativity and technical achievements of the filmmakers who made them. 

The winners at this year’s UKMVAs, the premier global awards programme for music video creativity, will be announced at the awards ceremony which takes place for the first time at Magazine, the new state-of-the-art events venue near The O2 in North Greenwich, on October 27th, in what promises to be a big night for the music video-making industry. 

Leading the way in the nominations is FKA twigs with a stunning haul of eight nominations, including 5 nods for her video for Tears In The Club, featuring The Weeknd. She is followed by fellow British artist Little Simz with six nominations, who similarly gained five nominations for a single video, Point and Kill, featuring Obongjayar. UK alt rock outfit black midi also have six nods at the UKMVAs, divided between three videos made for tracks from their new album Hellfire.

The black midi video for Sugar/Tzu is one of several videos with three nominations in the 2022 shortlist. That includes Kendrick Lamar’s The Heart Pt 5, the video that launched his new album; Doechii’s Crazy, one of the most controversial videos of the past year; the all-animated video for Pharrell’s Cash In Cash Out, featuring 21 Savage and Tyler The Creator; and Nadie, a video for Mexican/Argentine vocal duo Sin Bandera.   

Following the upheavals caused by Covid, the nominations at this year’s UKMVAs also reflect the world of music video production bouncing back, with the shortlist featuring a plethora of burgeoning directing talent making their debut among the nominations, as well as honouring the skills displayed in numerous film departments, including Cinematography, Production Design, Editing and VFX.

Among the ‘behind-the-camera’ talent, British-Ghanaian director Ebeneza Blanche leads the pack with a remarkable 7 nominations, including five nominations for their video for Little Simz’s Point and Kill and a place in the Best New Director list. US director Amber Grace Johnson’s video for Tears In The Club for FKA twigs has five nominations, and like Point and Kill it is nominated in several Technical Achievement categories, including Best Wardrobe Styling and Best Hair & Make-up. C Prinz, who directed Doechii’s Crazy, sees her video pick up four nominations, and also wins a nod in the Best New Director list.

Henry Scholfield, a former winner of the Best Director award at the UKMVAs, is nominated again for that award while his video for Stromae’s Fils de Joie, gains two nods, and one for Ed Sheeran’s 2Step, featuring Lil Baby. US director Noel Paul’s videos for black midi’s Sugar/Tzu, and Ezra Furman’s Forever In Sunset get a total of four nods.

Also on the Best Director list is Ukranian director Tanu Muino, who won the award last year, and is also nominated for her direction of Harry Styles’ video for As It Was, and Foals’ 2am. She is joined by French directors Arnaud Bresson and Valentin Petit, and British directors Scholfield, Duncan Loudon and Aidan Zamiri. The Best New Director list is completed by French directing duo Bleu Desert, US-based STILLZ, Italian director Giada Bossi and British director Edem Wornoo.