Andrew Gura was first struck by visions of fantastical stories during a repeated childhood experience: watching scenery rush by outside buses and cars between his parents’ homes.

The displacement he felt in transit became a catalyst for creativity. It shaped his mindset, honed his eye for the surreality in everyday moments, and inspired him to reclaim the uncertain present with his own voice.

It also taught him to lean in and frolic with the absurdity of it all, a necessary superpower when making work with masked rappers and reclusive beatmakers, or putting cocaine in chow mein with comic provocateurs. (This happened.)

Now a director, Andrew has built a vibrant body of work, from one-off commissions (Anenon’s Tongue for Apple Music) to personal films like Between Sounds with Topu Lyo (jeen-yuhs), to long-term narrative development (Nelson’s Edwin).

But the image Andrew is perhaps most known for is the Smile cover of J Dilla’s seminal Donuts LP.

Sonny and the Bull, Andrew’s first narrative screenplay, is a night drive through the shiny and tumultuous 1980s alongside the Sikh man who championed the Lamborghini Countach in the States.