Huu Do cuts through commercial cliché, melding an atmospheric and dreamy aesthetic approach to filmmaking with breathtaking vision, as with his his ten-minute, rave-inspired hallucination for hip hop collective Last Night in Paris – debuting below. Whether it’s adidas campaigns or music videos for artists Kasper Bjørke and Bipolar Sunshine, he currently holds all the aces. “I like that the new generations are not stuck in boxes any more like when I was a teenager,” he says. “Now there is fusion in everything, and it’s actually more natural.”
What was your defining pop culture moment of 2014?
Karim Huu Do: The continuous praise of big fat butts.
How would you sum up what you do in a sentence?
Karim Huu Do: I make 25 pictures per second.
What’s your favourite song and movie of 2014?
Karim Huu Do: Lately I’ve been constantly playing SOHN’s “The Chase” and PartyNextDoor’s “Recognize”. In film, I would say the last Miyazaki, The Wind Rises – his films are always a great inspiration – and Paris, Texas. Sorry it’s not a 2014 movie, but I watched it for the first time a month ago and it blew my mind. A masterpiece.
What’s the most exciting thing about the music/film/fashion industry today?
Karim Huu Do: I like that the new generations are not stuck in boxes any more, like we used to be when I was a teenager. Now there is fusion in everything and it's actually more natural. Musicians are merging electronic with hip hop, filmmakers are doing art exhibitions, artists are doing fashion pieces. I like it. It’s less judgmental in a way, and more open to polymorphic people.
What new skill did you learn this year?
Karim Huu Do: I'm not a VFX expert, but this year I worked on several projects that needed a lot of this stuff. I think I learned a lot about the process and how these people can do a great job if you express your vision in an efficient way.
Who’s an unsung cultural hero that you discovered this year?
Karim Huu Do: Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie. He was the father of Alexandre Dumas, the writer who created The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. This man was incredible. His biography is like a classic of literature. The son of a slave and a white French nobleman, he was the highest-ranking person of colour of all time in Europe and this was in the 18th century! He became a general in the French army and was characterised as “fearless and irreproachable”. He won every battle he was involved in and was a legend for fighting alone against ten soldiers. His enemies were calling him “the black devil”. I want to do something about him in the future.
What’s the most surprising thing we’d find out if we looked at your phone?
Karim Huu Do: I’ll keep it secret. Don’t want to be hacked one day...
Who should have been at number one on the Dazed 100?
Karim Huu Do: Richard Mosse.
Vimeo: @karimhd
Upvote your favourites to decide the Readers' 100