Pull-Out
23 | THE VOICE JUNE 28 - JULY 4, 2012
LONDON GIG
Salt-N-Pepa added to Wireless
STARTING OVER
Wiley scraps finished album
TERENCE NANCE
Jay Z’s new direction
24 ! THE VOICE FEBRUARY 13 - 19, 2014
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Director Terence Nance talks to YV’s Rykesha Hudson about getting Jay Z’s attention, offers advice for aspiring filmmakers and explains how he got over heartbreak
W
HILE MOST young men would keep their innermost feelings about love and heartbreak to themselves, film director Terence Nance has decided to share them with the world in his new film, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty. With arresting narration throughout, vulnerability and touching moments, Nance's explosively creative debut feature, documents the relationship between himself and love interest, Namik Minter, as it hovers between the lines of friendship and a romance. With live action and various styles of animation, Nance
explores the fantasies, emotions and memories that race through his mind during a single moment in time. “The film is a retelling of a personal experience in which I came to some sort of emotional, self-awareness in just one moment,” Nance explains. “It's my retelling of that experience whilst remaining as objective as possible.” An Oversimplification of Her Beauty resembles a cinematic version of a notebook, filled with random thoughts and doodles, which traces and retraces the moments, which lead to Namik standing Terence up. The dynamic film caught the attention of music mogul Jay Z, who went on to executively pro-
duce it after filming was complete. “Just knowing that Jay Z even watched the film is amazing to me, and I always will be amazed.” He added: “The fact that he thought enough of the film to help us out when he's lent his name to movies like The Great Gatsby, is just really, really cool to me.” As well as a helping hand from Jay Z, the filmmaker also raised funds for the film using Kickstarter - the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. The production team's goal was $15,000 (£9,000), but
they were able to raise over $20,000 (£12,000) from supporters’ donations. Despite An Oversimplification of Her Beauty depicting true events in his life as he explores his love and heartbreak, Nance doesn't believe he has crossed any personal lines. “I don't think my mind is extraordinarily opened to strangers, I've only opened the part that contained information about how I felt about a specific situation seven years ago.” He adds: “Also I think maybe that I reject the idea that any human is truly a stranger to any other human. So many of our emotions are congruent, so we are all family in that way.” The 32-year-old filmmaker hopes that his work encourages young artists and filmmakers to start their own projects. “Fill yourself up with experiences. If you are an aspiring filmmaker, then those experiences will make you want to make something out of them. “It's important not to live behind the camera too. Make sure you actually live and then at some point that will make you want to start filming,” advised Nance. Using a montage of animation, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, dips in and out of the realms of reality. “I concep-
tualised a lot of it as animation because I was trying to talk from different perspectives and I was also trying to illustrate things that were very internal and dreamlike. With animation you can demonstrate things that you can't with a photograph.” Refreshingly (or unfortunately, in Nance’s case), An Oversimplification of Her Beauty is not a guy-gets-thegirl-in-the-end kind of film. “I've never watched those generic romantic comedies. To be honest, they're the movies I run away from.” Instead, Nance was inspired by melodramatic novels, and, foremost, his feelings for Namik. Since starting the film six years ago, Terence and Namik
remain very close friends, and Nance has a new love interest in his life. Surely it must have been difficult to watch a film about your partner falling in love with another girl, though. “You'd have to ask her how she feels,” jokes Nance. “It all happened such a long time ago. Myself and Namik are just friends. We're still in the friend zone.” Nance, who was born in Dallas, Texas, has big plans for his filming future. “I hope to work with actors including Lupita Nyong'o, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Forest Whitaker and Denzel Washington, but mostly I want to work with people who are yet to be discovered.”
IDRIS ELBA:
SALT-N-PEPA:
The Grammy awardwinning rap group have been confirmed to perform at this year ’s Wireless Festival in July
The British actor has been tipped to play Marvel superhero Black Panther in an upcoming Hollywood blockbuster
OR BUSTED? F F U B
Dear Kat
I’m 18 and I would like to consider myself good-looking, but I can’t seem to find a man who is serious. All the ones that seem to come into my life seem to be on a joke flex, or only after one thing. I want a guy to settle down with. My best friend has been with her man since we were 16 and I want to find a man like that too! Every Valentine’s Day that comes around I’m always alone and no one understands why. How and where can I find a man that I’m looking for? Anon
WILEY:
The UK rapper has scrapped his new album after spending $42,000 on recording sessions
Hi Anon,
Well, it’s not a bad thing that you don’t have a boyfriend because when you do get one, you will be glad you took your time. Don’t follow someone else’s lead. We have more than enough followers, don’t add to the head count! There is a guy out there looking for the same thing you are, he may even be reading this! Do it for love, not lust. Do it if it feels right and not just because you want to fill a void in your life. If you do it for those reasons, you will only end up hurting yourself in the long run. You have no problems compared to some of the peeps who write in. Keep your head up, Mr Right will appear when you least expect it!
DAMAGE:
The UK boyband revealed they took Class A drugs during the group ’s heyday
BUFF
BUFF KELLY ROW LAND:
CHANEL IMA N:
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Belle of the ba ll
UK supermodel Jourdan Dunn was a little ticked off after a Twitter user asked the svelte mother-of-one if she ever ate. After replying “just ice cubes, ” she then tweeted:
Wonderful in whi
te
“I ’m going to stop replying to idiots on here ” Jourdan Dunn
JOURDAN DUNN
FEBRUARY 13 - 19, 2014 THE VOICE ! 25
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