Caviar Welcomes Quba Tuakli to London Roster for Commercial and Music Video Representation

Caviar welcomes Quba Tuakli, the London-based filmmaker to its London roster for representation having collaborated on his latest music video for Emir Taha ‘Katakulli’.

Raised in a working-class household in South London, Quba discovered filmmaking by chance while studying for an architecture degree. Since then he’s worn several hats, from creative directing print magazine Wave where he’s led cover shoots for The Gorillas, Ghetts and Doja Cat, to working agency side delivering engaging content for millennial and gen z audiences. All the while his main focus, was learning his craft as a director with a series of short docs, promos and content pieces that consistently display a talent for narrative, wit and surreal concepts. His short Doc Lo for Ralph Lauren is a great example of this.

Sorcha Shepherd MD of Caviar said of the signing: “Here is a really good lesson in finding new talent. If a new director emails you, open the email and watch their work! If I hadn’t of done that, then Quba would have slipped through my fingers and I I would have regretted that! Quba’s work that I saw initially was quite diverse tonally, but I was drawn to his performances and how brilliantly he directs his talent. After our first meeting, it was obvious to me that he would have some brilliant stories to tell. Then, when I started seeing the pitches he was submitting, I knew we were dealing with someone very special. Cut to me seeing the edit for Katakulli and I was even more convinced that I wanted to sign him. Quba’s unique tone of voice makes me very excited that we will be supporting him in his very bright future. Plus, he has incredible manners.”

Quba has teamed up with Emir Taha, the Brixton-based Turkish artist to direct a surreal music video for Katakulli, the lead track on his latest EP Hoppa Pt 2. In less than a year,the viral wunderkind has cemented himself as a rising force in the global music scene, starting this year with a No.1 in his homeland, and winning over the likes of Benny Blanco and D.C. rapper Wale. ‘Hoppa pt. 2’ follows the first instalment released back in 2020, which established Emir’s signature blend of SoundCloud-influenced hip hop, Turkish-folk and sultry R&B. Warding off bad vibes with his ancient Nazar bead, the video sees Emir pick up a mysterious cab ride in the heart of South London, setting off on a dreamscape journey with wholesome characters from his Native Turkey.

Quba adds: “Emir wanted something dark and trippy, having written the song while disillusioned with his environment and desiring to return home (Turkey). It fit with the track and was a great starting point for me - I’m drawn to irreverent narratives about identity and belonging, and when we decided that the video should have an aspect of travel to it, the ideas just kept forming in my head. The resulting video is a descent into frantic delirium ignited by a longing for one’s native culture. Said delirium starts off confrontational until the experience becomes something warm and familiar.

It’s a pleasure working with an artist like Emir - respectful of a director’s craft and creativity, with the ability to provide insightful feedback when the time is right. During the pitching/pre-production phase, we not only built an idea we both invested in but also a mutual trust - two things that are essential to a good video and a happy working environment.

We shot the whole video 30 seconds from my house in South London. Now half my neighbours think I’m Michael Bay, the other half think I’m a wild-eyed, low loader riding, roundabout circling, silver-haired cross-dressing cab driver toating public menace. Big Win.

I was talking to Daniella my EP in the run-up, about how unsettled I was that a Covid-era promo could go so smoothly. Guess what happened next? We lost our AD at 6:30 am, 30 mins before call time. Our producer Joseph woke up half the professional shouty men in London to find a replacement, while simultaneously pulling off his best “everything’s in hand” impression. Maybe it wasn’t an impression - by 9am we had an AD and by wrap, we had almost made up all that lost time.”

Daniella Manca, head of music videos and content had this to say on collaborating with Quba on their first music video together: “When he first wrote the idea for Katakulli I could picture it right away and its been a real pleasure helping him to bring it to life, as a director his desire to tell interesting and off beat stories is what drew me to his work. This project has been a great first in hopefully many more (weird) videos...”