Recommended Rawk: Brandon Bernath’s Short Film/Music Video “Illionaire,” Performed by Zoë Fromer (2025)

by Joseph Perry 

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” column “Recommended Rawk,” Joseph shares news about current and recent rock album releases, news, videos, and performances. 

Demonic monsters and hard-driving rock and roll — what more could you want from a new music video? Ah, but filmmaker Brandon Bernath’s “Illionaire” — a track from Fromer’s Velvet EP — is more than just another music video. It’s a short film approach that gives you grindhouse goodness with supernatural weirdness, set to Zoë Fromer’s energetic song.

As this is the first I have heard about Fromer — and believe me, it won’t be the last — I turned to her official website (https://zoefromer.com/) to learn more about her. It states: “Zoë Fromer is a frontwoman, writer, and filmmaker whose work fuses reverb-heavy guitars with mythic storytelling. Her sophomore EP, Velvet, channels the raw energy of '60s pop, garage rock, and blues—nostalgic, unvarnished, and emotionally exacting.” What’s not to like?

"Illionaire" just dropped attendees’ jaws at SXSW London. Following is the official press announcement.

Synopsis

"Illionaire" is a cinematic fever dream — part road chase, part supernatural showdown. Driven by grindhouse grit, the video follows rising New York rock and roll musician Zoë Fromer and three demons in relentless pursuit of the titular ILLIONAIRE, a figure caught between legend and reckoning, soundtracked by the punk song. Set against sun-soaked California backdrops, the visual narrative blends western grit, surrealism, and rock & roll bravado.

 

Speaking about the project, Brandon has said:

"’Illionaire’ is an American Grindhouse short film and music video that combines comic book characters with rock and roll music to deliver something funny, edgy and memorable."

 

Brandon Bernath is a writer, director, actor, producer, and musician based out of Los Angeles, California. He has been recognized in numerous publications for his work, including ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE, NPR, & AMERICAN SONGWRITER MAGAZINE. He has collaborated with major brands and companies such as, L'AGENCE, CHOOSE LOVE, WARNER RECORDS, FLAUNT MAGAZINE, & TELLURIDE PROPERTIES. Brandon's next project includes creating a series of shorts for the online fashion brand Vague Studios.

 

Brandon acted, wrote, and produced the short film “How'dy!” that also included Keene McRae (“Wild”, “CBGB”), Malcolm McRae (“Daisy Jones & The Six”), and George Stroumboulopoulos (Hobo With A Shotgun”). “How’dy!” won best Indie Short film at the Indie Short Fest. He also wrote the short film “The Lummox”, that stars award-winning actor Jorge Garcia (“Lost”, “Alcatraz”). “The Lummox” was nominated for Best Short Film at Cinema at the Edge (CATE) Film Festival.

 

An accomplished actor, Brandon has appeared in films such as “Queen Of Manhattan” alongside Rainey Qualley, (“Delilah”), Taryn Manning (“Orange Is The New Black”), & Drea de Matteo (“The Sopranos”) and “Shot In The Dark” with Jacqueline Toboni (“Grimm”), Austin Hebert (“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back”), and Keene McRae (“Wild”, “CBGB”). Brandon was nominated for Best Actor at the 2017 CineFashion Film Awards for his role in the comedy short “The Selfie That Changed The World”.

 

In addition to lead roles in the indie films “L.A Guy”, “Ventris”, and “Massachusetts”, Brandon had supporting roles in the film “Hollywood Hustle: LA Player” with Tom Arnold (“True Lies”), Brian Krause (“Charmed”), Devin Ratray (“Nebraska”), and Mika Boorem (“Sleepover”) and the award-winning film “Little Miss Perfect” starring Lilla Crawford (“Into The Woods”).

 

On stage, Brandon played a lead role in a production of David Rabe’s award-winning dark comedy “Hurly Burly” at Playhouse West, and a lead in a production of Kenneth Lonergan’s “This Is Our Youth” at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. As a child actor, he had appeared in the USA Network TV series “Manhattan, AZ” with Mindy Sterling (“Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”), Brian McNamara (“Seinfeld”, “Hawaii 5-0”), and Stephen Tobolowsky (“Groundhog Day”).

 

Away from his work as a filmmaker and actor, Brandon has established a reputation as a musician. He is currently working as part of the seminal LA punk band The Abomic Toms, who have been featured on the BBC and KXLU. Their most recent single, "RUN" landed placement in Amazon Prime's hit new action/drama series, “Motorheads”. The band is set to open up for Billy Idol & Joan Jett at the Kia Forum later in 2025.

U.S. filmmaker Brandon Bernath’s short film/music video of Zoë Fromer’s “Illionaire” screened at SXSW London on June 5th as part of the Music Video Showcase.