Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Boyd.
Hi Nancy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was given my first point and shoot camera as a child, I was walking through the woods with my dad. He pointed out different plants and told me their story (everything has one) and I was fascinated with capturing what I saw and being able to make someone else see what I see. My dad then gave me advice that still rings in my head, “Make sure to always save room for one photo in case you see Big Foot”. I still do that because… well, he’s right. I don’t want to be unprepared when I see Big Foot! But also, it’s just a great reminder to be open to be magic in the world and then show that magic to other people who might not see it.
Through college, I paid for my textbooks by filming weddings and events. Let me tell you if you want any story inspiration- work a wedding. There is so much drama and comedy packed into one day. I graduated with my first feature film under my belt, Married on a Monday. Watching it now, I see so many things I would do differently now as a director, but the project remains close to my heart.
I moved to Los Angeles at the end of 2019 to pursue my MFA in Film & Television Production from USC. I produced the short film The More We Get Together featuring Dee Wallace who voices a therapy puppet helping a young woman deal with her father’s COVID diagnosis. This was all done over Zoom, which was… bananas and taught me so much. I really delved into the directing track at USC and got to make short films about jello, spanking, and even a musical version of Twilight as an assignment. Before graduating, I was selected as one of the directors for a collaborative directing class where we filmed the feature Jack & Lou: A Gangster Love Story.
This past summer, I had the extreme joy of directing another feature, Lady Parts, written by Bonnie Gross. The story is a semi-autobiographical story about vaginal health, but it speaks to women all over the world whose pain is disregarded by the medical community, their sexual partners, and society as a whole. I’m really excited to share this film when post-production is over!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The pandemic was definitely a struggle that all artists felt in some way. Filmmaking is such a collaborative experience so it is extremely hard to create within isolation. I’m happy that I was able to collaborate virtually with filmmakers during quarantine. While it is a wacky way to make a film, it really forced me to learn to communicate more effectively and gave me the space to come to terms with what I love in a story- not what I thought people wanted to see.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I certainly an affinity for stories that let us laugh at the uncomfortable situation that is life and help us feel less alone. I think there is a lot of levity and laughter in the dramatic moments. After people watch something I directed, I want people to feel like they can take themselves less seriously. I think we have this feeling in society that joy is somehow less important of an emotion to tell stories about? I want to fill the world with more joyful stories because I see their importance in them. I’m currently in post production for Lady Parts right now. It’s looking so good and we have such an incredible team working together to get the story told in such an entertaining and impactful way. I’m very excited to share it with the world soon.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’m not sure if it’s luck or just how things work out, but I’ve looked back on opportunities I was sad to not be selected for and later realized that if I had been selected, I would not have been able to do something else worthwhile. My short film was rejected from the thesis program at USC, but if I had been selected, I wouldn’t have been available to shoot a feature film over the summer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vimeo.com/fancypantsynancy
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fancypantsynancy/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-boyd-05437413b/
Image Credits
Khayman Brunswick, Ben Wilson
