5 Questions with Jane Inyang
“One Shot,” by director Jane Inyang, is a stylish satire on social media and influencer culture, shown through an artist preparing for a performance. We asked Inyang what sparked the idea, the biggest challenge of the project, and a recent favorite film…
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?
I’ve been teaching myself how to film and edit for the last few years and just started putting out solid projects last year. I’m interested in filmmaking because my films allow me to explore issues I have within myself and have been a source of therapy for me.
2) I’d love to hear a bit about your inspiration for this project - what you were most interested in saying or exploring?
I’m a huge fan of selfie culture. This film was inspired by a particular time in my life where I would spend several hours doing my makeup and taking selfies on PhotoBooth hoping to get validation from my Instagram followers. I wanted to explore selfies as an art form by likening them to other live performances such as opera, theatre or ballet, and the possibilities of what performance art is bound to look like for our self-indulgent generation.
3) What would you say was the biggest challenge with this project? Either in the concept or the execution?
Getting the tone of the film to be satirical was difficult for me because I didn’t want the film to come out preachy...for lack of a better word. I don’t want people to watch the film and feel self conscious about celebrating the way they look, I just wanted to play around with the idea of self-admiration.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that made a big impact on you?
Roma! The fact that such a beautiful film was on Netflix AND playing at the local indie cinema made me feel really hopeful for the future. I think it’s getting easier for independent films to reach a mainstream audience without coming across as something inaccessible to the general public. Also the camera shots in that film inspire me to take more risk in the kind of technical shots I can/should use in my own films.
5) What’s next for you?
Right now, I’m writing a film on dating preferences and using your dating preferences as a form of Eugenics, I hope to make it my first long-form film so just pouring all my brain power into that at the moment.
Contact Info
IG: @jane.inyang