Biography

Jake Nava continues to break new ground at the intersection of culture and storytelling with iconic work across a number of genres. Few directors bring integrity, style and authenticity to commercial work with such ease.

Nava's style-with-substance approach has distinguished brands like Tanqueray, Bacardi, Puma, Pepsi, and HSBC, while unique storytelling is expertly illustrated in two recent spots:

For Martini, Nava directed an ambitious global rebrand campaign where he devised original in-camera transition fx to describe the idea that wealth is about amassing life experiences not money.

For Guinness, Nava directed "Intolerant Champion," a thrilling commemoration of John Hammond, one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music for his talent discoveries -including Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen- and for ushering in racial integration within the music scene.

In fashion and beauty, Nava has built an impressive portfolio with campaigns for L'Oreal, Armani, Revlon, CoverGirl, Maybelline, and Rimmel. His extensive celebrity work includes directing talent such as Katy Perry, Kate Moss, David Beckham, James Franco, Halle Berry, and Georgia May Jagger.

In music, Nava has created award-winning and career-defining visuals for Beyoncé (with whom he has had over a decade of music video and commercial collaboration), Adele, Kanye West, Lana Del Rey, Alicia Keys and the Arctic Monkeys to name a few.

His "Single Ladies" video for Beyoncé stands as one of the most highly awarded, influential - and imitated -music videos of all time, redefining the "viral video" as something interactive and participatory. The video was featured in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity as an example of how women-initiated style revolutions describe their social, political, and sexual emancipation. "Single Ladies" was also spotlighted in the travelling museum exhibition Spectacle: The Music Video as one of the most important music videos of all time, specifically citing its innovative choreography and global influence on fan culture.

For Adele, Nava directed "Someone Like You," a video as unfiltered and poetic as the Grammy-winning track, drawing over 700 million views. With Lana del Rey's "High By The Beach", Billboard recognized Nava's video as one of the most ambitious for the cinematic songwriter. Nava's clip for Alicia Keys' "Unthinkable" was awarded Outstanding Music Video at the 42nd NAACP Awards.
- IMDb mini biography by: Jake Nava