Stephen Graham's act of love

This new music video for Myles Smith's track Hold Me in the Dark is a powerful and emotional story of a father attempting to come to terms with his daughter's imminent death.

The promo is directed by Smith himself through Partizan London, his first time stepping behind the camera, and the film features award-winning actor Stephen Graham as we follow him through the final hours he spends with his dying daughter.

After visiting her in hospital, the father returns to his flat and works obsessively on a construction of mirrors and coloured fragments, building something that we, as viewers, can only guess at, and which only the father fully understands. From the outside, it seems as though we're looking at a man emotionally unravelling but, really, his obsession is the one thing holding him together at such as dark and distressing time.

As Smith's song rises, the father carries the finished piece to a rooftop and, as the sun beams down, it sends light spilling across the city and into his daughter's hospital room; a final act of love. Graham's performance, and his character's intensity and focus on a task that only he knows the meaning of, is at once breathtaking and heartbreaking. Graham is joined on screen by Abbie Kay Ashworth and Chizzy Akudolu as well as real working nurses from Luton Hospital, the town from which Smith comes.

Working with a director making his first film called for a different kind of collaboration from Partizan. They paired Smith's singular, personal vision with an experienced crew led by cinematographer Joel Honeywell and production designer Syd Harmony.

“What I loved about this concept was the misdirection," said Smith. "At first, you think you’re watching someone unravel, but slowly you realise every strange object and every seemingly irrational decision is actually an act of love. He’s not losing his grip on reality; he’s trying to do something impossible for the person he loves most.”

“Working with a first-time director is a completely different rhythm," added Executive Producer Danny Herman. "Myles arrived with a really clear, personal vision and it’s obviously his song, so the feeling was already there and our job was to build the right team around him and protect that vision all the way to the screen. Myself and producer Chris Murdoch assembled a gang of our favourite HoDs, people we knew would bring the right experience, creativity and care to the project, while helping make it feel as special as it deserved to be. When you get that kind of synergy on set, where everyone’s serving the same idea, a debut can feel as assured as anything we make.”

"When you're involved in a production like this, especially for a first-time director, it's important to come with an open-mindedness and a willingness to partake completely, a million per cent," said Graham. "For me, it's imperative that I'm one piece of a beautiful jigsaw every time I embark on any project. It was an absolute team game, and a joy to be part of that collective."