Ed Sheeran’s Persian Wedding Fever Dream, Directed by Saman Kesh

For Ed Sheeran’s new single ‘Azizam’, director Saman Kesh returns with a collaboration over a decade in the making – and it’s nothing short of a sensory overload.

Reuniting after their first project together (‘Drunk’), Saman and Ed dive headfirst into a wildly stylised vision of a Persian wedding that defies convention, structure, and personal space (even through camera movements).

When talking about his working relationship with Ed, Saman notes that both him and the singer “love cats and enjoy the absurdity of existence” – what initially led to them creating ‘Drunk’ together, a video about a “lonely dude who gets drunk with his cat”.

Since ‘Drunk’, Ed and Saman have been discussing what their next project would be. It just so happened that it’s a “baptism by rice” for Ed, as Saman puts it. ‘Azizam’ is a chaotic, full-of-love, culture-rich fever dream where hospitality becomes an all-consuming force and love is the rule of law.

Creatively led by Persian tradition, Saman’s own childhood memories, and heaps of saffron rice, the director crafts a visual symphony that crammed “five minutes of ideas into three.”

The final product is a joyful assault on the senses bursting with colour, ‘unchoreographed’ choreography, heritage and heart. Featuring a star-studded cast of Persian talent (including legends like Googoosh and Andy), absurdist food design, and stunning historical costumes, ‘Azizam’ is as much a celebration of cultural identity as it is a bold artistic statement. Dropping a British artist like Ed in the middle of this fever dream of love is the cherry on top.

LBB’s Zoe Antonov caught up with Saman to find out how this beautifully bonkers film came to life – and how it nearly broke him (in the best way).

LBB> Firstly, tell me more about the start of this collaboration and how it came about?

Saman> Back then he hadn't properly acted in a video. I think I ‘politely’ pressured him and the rest is history. We both really loved that video and talked about what our next collab would be.

LBB> How did the track inform the creative direction of the video?

Saman> Cut to 2024. He hits me up about doing a video for a Persian-inspired track. Ed and I quickly knew the idea of a Persian wedding felt right. They’re like a hyper-speed DJ mix. Boom Boom Boom. Different elements of Persian culture at rapid-fire speeds.

However, an actual wedding wouldn’t convey the intense assault of love that Persians give off. So I pitched an idea where Ed is thrust into a whirlwind fever-dream wedding. We joked that it was like an assault of hospitality. Nobody has boundaries in this universe, coming at you with excessive love. My exact phrasing to Ed was, “It should feel like a baptism by rice.” He got it and then off we flew, on my magic carpet.

LBB> How did you manage to distil Persian culture into such a short and detail-packed film, especially mixing it with a British artists' legacy? What were some ideas that led this vision?

Saman> I wanted it to feel like there was too much stuff because that’s how it feels in real life. So, I basically wanted to take a five-minute video and cram it into three minutes. It’s exhilarating and overwhelming at the same time.

And Ed, a white British artist, getting tossed around in this situation is basically what it feels like for newcomers at a Persian wedding. This was a difficult task for my team, including my amazing producer Nicole Powell. But I think everyone is proud of the video. In this moment, it’s history.

LBB> There are some epic cameos throughout the video – tell me a bit more about those and what they added to the overall film.

Saman> We wanted different ethnicities and cultures in our video. But when it came to cameos I felt it was important for us to showcase Persian talent. Persians gave the world a lot of the art, architecture, poetry and fashion that still runs through the veins of society. Ed agreed, so we chose Persian artists from various disciplines. Actors, comedians, makeup artists, food stylists, musicians and general performers. From younger talent like Eyelar Mirzazadeh and Shervin Alenabi, to comedians like Omid and the legends like Googoosh (Faegheh Atashin) and Andy (Andranik Madadian). The ultimate Persian spread.

LBB> The camera movement is so memorable, and it feels like we're rushing through this whole new world. What led this creative decision and how was it actually executed?

Saman> Firstly, I like to personify my camera. It’s a character in whatever I make.
And secondly, we wanted to make sure this elaborate dreamlike wedding also felt real and approachable. So I said let’s just have the camera move with the energy and enthusiasm of the people at the wedding. Always on, excited, with no boundaries and always in your face. It also allowed the viewer to understand that the ‘too much’ feeling is intentional so they can just buckle up, smile and hang on for dear life.

LBB> Tell me a bit more about the choreography.

Saman> So many Persians communicate through dance, so I wanted this event to feel like one big party, even outside the party. That said, dance numbers and musicals aren’t really ‘my thing’. I love choreography in action scenes and I love music, but I knew I didn’t want overly designed dance numbers.

So I thought: I want to make everyone’s actions rhythmic without it being a literal dance. A couple friends recommended Charlie Mayhew. Her work is amazing. She totally got what I was after. So we went back and forth and created a language we jokingly called ‘Adorably Psycho’. That is what you see in the video.

For casting, we wanted a heavier skew on people of colour, especially Persians. We focused on contemporary dancers and it was really fun to see the language come to life in these sessions. Oftentimes somebody would come in, we would see if they were close to the mark, then we would throw in some weird direction like ‘you only know how to smile’ or ‘your body is possessed as you cook’. This not only helped us cast the right people, but also further develop the ‘Adorably Psycho’ language.

LBB> And what about the costume design? What were you aiming for with it, who created it, and how did you keep it authentic?

Saman> Aspirational is an eye-rolling word these days, but I did want to elevate my culture in a way that communicated a story. Persians can be maximalist at weddings. Everybody loves to get dolled up. So instead of the usual black-tie situation I wanted the attire to communicate a feeling with historical nods. It should feel like everyone was getting ready for a Persian Vogue shoot or something. Modern structure and norms but with lots of ancient patterns, shiny stuff and gold. Persians luv da shiny.

Natalie Humphries was our costume designer. I love her work. She knows how to create bespoke languages through styling and shares my passion for communicating character through wardrobe. I’m very proud of the work. I even stole a couple of jackets from the set. Sorry, Nathalie.

LBB> The food looked incredible. What was the process of making it on set, where did it go after, what part of it was real?

Saman> I mean there are three things when people think of Persians: cats, rugs and foooooood. AF.

I wanted the food to feel impossible. All real dishes, but taken to an absurdist reality. Kabobs that are way too long. Giant pots of saffron rice. The sentiment was real, but the logic was not. I wanted a Persian foodie’s brain to help. My producer, Nicole, suggested we hire Hami Sharafi as our Persian creative food director. He helped me bring my story beats to life by realizing incredible dishes. Tanya Sadourian was our food stylist. She assembled an army of talented people to make a lot of the impossible possible. Couldn’t have done it without them.

LBB> How many people were involved in the shoot in front of the camera and what was it like directing such a huge crowd?

Saman> Lots of people, everywhere. Lots of prep. Lots of scouts. Lots of everything, just like the video itself. I survive through extroversion, but my soul is an introvert. So I can get shy or nervous with lots of people.

However, on set, I think the stimulation and intensity as a director are so high you just push past it and get the job done. It should be hard to say to Ed, “Yo, we’re gonna dump a bunch of rice on you for a dozen takes” when you know he’s going to hate it. At the same time you are fighting a clock and having to manage a whole crew.

But passion plus intensity equals winning. I’m only now realizing ‘Oh my god, poor Ed and all those people’. I hope they can forgive my ADHD-fuelled insanity.

LBB> What were the biggest challenges?

Saman> The biggest challenge was everything. It’s funny how production tends to mirror the film. It just was a lot of stuff and that’s how it felt trying to keep the ship afloat. Once we would solve a problem, another would explode.

Everything was on hard mode. The hardest thing for me though, was on an emotional level – I felt a lot of pressure. I wanted to do what was right for me, Ed, the viewers, and especially Persians. So a lot of stuff kind of came out of me on this one. All for the better (I hope).

LBB> What about the most fun part about it?

Saman> Honestly, because the video was so ambitious, it was the small, quiet stuff that I found the most fun in. I make animatics for all my projects where I shoot the entire thing on my iPhone. So it was fun to be alone and explore the edit before I entered the arena of chaos.

My favorite moment though was the banquet hall dancing bit at the end, which was also the very last thing we shot. It was insane. We shot it in less than two hours. Even though we were screaming over the music, you could just feel so much love in the room. The sentiment came to life. It was very powerful. It validated the whole journey for me. Some people even teared up. The perfect sign off to an intense shoot.

LBB> Why did you decide to end the video where you ended it and why was that a good natural conclusion to the narrative?

Saman> The backstory of this song was that Ilya suggested to Ed they work on a Persian track. So that sentiment of being invited has always been at the forefront. I felt it was important to end the video with a sentiment that solidifies that Ed is being invited. And what better way to do that than with the most famous Persian, ever. Googoosh. With all the women’s rights protests in Iran, I thought it was such a win to remind us that the most famous Persian ever is a woman. She is like, “Let’s go make a hit.” So in a way, it’s like, let’s show the world what Azizam really means.

You can find out more about Saman on his website and Instagram (@saman_kesh).