Omar Gabriel and Collis Browne Explore Love, Resilience and the Complexities of Lebanon in “GO ON”

Shot in Lebanon, the new visual project directed by Omar Gabriel accompanies Collis Browne's latest single, exploring what it means to keep moving forward in a country where beauty and hardship have long coexisted.

Lebanese filmmaker and photographer Omar Gabriel has teamed up with artist and musician Collis Browne for GO ON, a new music video filmed in Lebanon that explores love, persistence and the complicated relationship between a country and the people who remain connected to it.

The collaboration developed during Browne's annual return to Lebanon, a journey he has been making for nearly two decades. Having previously worked together on Everything is Political magazine, the two artists reunited to create a film that would reflect both the emotional weight of the song and their personal relationship with the country.

Lebanon plays a central role in the project, not simply as a filming location but as a place whose history, people and everyday realities inform the work. Through Gabriel's direction, GO ON moves between the conventions of a music video and a short film, allowing the country's familiar contradictions to exist without attempting to resolve them.

For Gabriel, whose practice spans documentary, fiction, photography and music, representing Lebanon comes with its own set of considerations. His work frequently addresses questions of identity, intimacy and resistance, particularly in relation to contemporary life in the Arab world. Here, his approach challenges the tendency to portray Lebanon exclusively through political instability, destruction or romanticised nostalgia.

The film makes room for ordinary life, acknowledging the effects of war, displacement and economic collapse without allowing them to become the country's only defining characteristics. It is an approach that feels particularly relevant at a time when images of Lebanon circulating internationally so often fail to capture the complexity of actually living there.

Musically, GO ON brings together Browne's experimental sensibilities with a more direct, emotionally driven sound. Moving between hard beats, synthesizers and intimate songwriting, the track reflects on the importance of persistence, particularly when circumstances feel uncertain.

“Sometimes we don't need to be understood; we just need to be encouraged,” Browne explains, a sentiment that informs both the song and its accompanying film.

Browne's wider artistic practice moves between experimental sound, songwriting and multidisciplinary projects, often addressing memory, love, loss and social consciousness. Following releases including Quantum Daydreams in 2024 and Sad Songs in 2025, GO ON continues his interest in the personal experiences that shape how people navigate the world around them.

The collaboration also speaks to the role of artistic production in Lebanon today. Despite the country's ongoing challenges, filmmakers, musicians and visual artists continue to produce work that engages with its realities on their own terms, refusing the idea that Lebanese creativity must always be defined by crisis.

Rather than presenting resilience as an uncomplicated virtue, GO ON considers the emotional effort involved in continuing, whether in relationships, creative practice or everyday life. The film's relationship with Lebanon gives that idea a particular significance, connecting Browne's personal reflections with a place that has repeatedly demanded its people find ways to carry on.

For Gabriel and Browne, the result is a collaboration that extends beyond the traditional music video format, bringing together music, filmmaking and a shared interest in portraying human experience without simplifying it.

GO ON is now available to watch on YouTube.