Terence Nance
Swimming In Your Skin Again, dir. Terence Nance, 2014.
About the Artist
Terence Nance was born in Dallas, Texas in what was then referred to as the State-Thomas community. Nance’s first feature film, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically soon after. The film featured music from Flying Lotus and was Co-Executive Produced by Jay-Z and dream hampton.
In the summer of 2018, Terence’s Peabody award-winning television series Random Acts of Flyness debuted on HBO to great critical acclaim, and was renewed for a second season by the network. The New York Times hailed the show as “hypnotic, transporting and uncategorizable” In the fall of 2018, it was announced that Nance was tapped to write and direct Space Jam 2, starring Lebron James.
Terence has been active making music for a decade scoring all of his own films and TV series and working with several groundbreaking musicians in the process. Featured collaborators on his recently released THINGS I NEVER HAD EP are the psychedelic chanteur Nick Hakim, the incomparable harpist Brandee Younger, and of course the space gospel minister Nelson Bandela.
Additional film work includes “Swimming in Your Skin Again” and “Univitillen”. Nance premiered a performance piece, 18 Black Boys Ages 1-18 Who Have Arrived at the Singularity and are Thus Spiritual Machines at Sundance.
(The above is reposted from http://terencenance.com/)
The Ummah Chroma (“community of color”), a filmmaking collaborative teaming Nancewith Bradford Young, Jenn Nkiru, Marc Thomas and Kamasi Washington, debuted As Told To G/D Thyself at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. The film’s exploration of divinity through the aesthetics of blackness exemplifies a practice inspired by the jazz ensemble, channeling black musicality to collectively advance black cinematic language.
SELECT WORKS
Director
Space Jam 2 (2021)
Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia (2020), co-director
Guisado on Sunset (2020), director and writer
As Told to G/D Thyself (2018) (directed with Jenn Nkiru, Marc Thomas, Kamasi Washington, Bradford Young; collectively known as the Ummah Chroma)
195 Lewis – webseries (2018)
Random Acts of Flyness (TV Series) (2018)
Univitillen (2018)
Guisado on Sunset (2017)
Jimi Could Have Fallen From the Sky (2017)
They Charge for the Sun (2016)
You and I and You (2015)
So Young So Pretty So White (2015 ) – documentary, co-directed with Chanelle Aponte Pearson
Moonrising (2014)
Blackout: John Burris Speaks (2014)
Swimming in Your Skin Again (2014)
The Triptych (2013)
Triggers (2013)
Postman (2013)
Till I Met Thee (2013)
Native Sun (2013)
Frenel (2013)
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012)
How Would You Feel? (2010)
No Ward (2009)
Producer
Out/Side of Time (5-channel video) (2021), dir. Jenn Nkiru
Killing in Thy Name (Short) (2021), dir. Ummah Chroma
And Nothing Happened (Short) (2016), dir. Naima Ramos Chapman
Music
Vortex (2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV2VfYPCU1A&list=OLAK5uy_nrA5NbM7mVH8BMk_BDriaRZcHQo9QSiIw
Installations
Selected Interviews
Minsker, Evan. “Director Terence Nance Announces Debut Album, Shares New Song: Listen.” Pitchfork, July 7, 2022. https://pitchfork.com/news/director-terence-nance-announces-debut-album-shares-new-song-listen/
"Episode 42: Terence Nance, ‘Random Acts of Flyness.’” OnWriting, January 15, 2021. https://www.wgaeast.org/onwriting/terence-nance-random-acts-of-flyness/
“Bonues Episode: Directors Terence Nance (Random Acts of Flyness) & Malik Vitthal (Body Cam).” Talk Easy, June 27, 2020. https://talkeasypod.com/artist/terene-nance-malik-vitthal/
Dry, Jude. "‘Random Acts of Flyness’: Terence Nance Makes Avant-Garde TV Entertaining, With a Little Help From Jon Hamm." IndieWire, 4 August 2018. https://www.indiewire.com/2018/08/random-acts-of-flyness-terence-nance-jon-hamm-hbo-1201990866/
Five by Five Project (2017) - https://visitseattle.org/tv/categories/project-five-by-five/
“How to allow your subconscious to efficiently make a movie: Terence Nance at TEDxBrooklyn.” TEDx Talks, February 9, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9voSO-1-axU&feature=youtu.be
Conversations and Other Works
Wright, Rikkí, “Terence Etc. –Vortex.” YouTube, August 18, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yCpL-YWcVc&t=1s
Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski & Terence Nance Present at the 2021 Creative Capital Artist Retreat. September 8, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lgnbfqaDrE
Reviews
Powers, Ann, Christina Lee, Tarik Moody, and Robin Hilton. “New Music Friday: The Best Releases Out on August 19.” NPR: All Songs Considered, August 19, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1118143500/new-music-friday-the-best-releases-out-on-aug-19
Kreps, Daniel. “Rage Against the Machine Detail History Behind ‘Killing in the Name’ in Mini-Doc.” Rolling Stone, January 16, 2021. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rage-against-the-machine-killing-of-the-name-doc-1115666/
Narcisse, Evan. "‘Random Acts of Flyness’ Doesn’t Give a F–k If White People Get It." Rolling Stone, September 7, 2018. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/random-acts-of-flyness-719221/
Otterson, Joe. "‘Random Acts of Flyness’ Renewed for Season 2 at HBO." Variety, August 20, 2018. https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/random-acts-of-flyness-renewed-season-2-hbo-1202910149/
Desta, Yohana. "Terrence Nance's Random Acts of Flyness Is a Black Wonderland." Vanity Fair, August 3, 2018.
Nussbaum, Emily. "The Raw Trip of 'Random Acts of Flyness.'" The New Yorker, August 27, 2018.
Ugwu, Reggie. "Is America Ready for the Mind of Terence Nance?" The New York Times, July 26, 2018.
Rapold, Nicolas. "Young Love, the Unrequited Type ‘An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,’ by Terence Nance." The New York Times, 25 April 2013. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/movies/an-oversimplification-of-her-beauty-by-terence-nance.html?mtrref=www.google.com.
