Nazli Dinçel: An Interview

Nazlı Dinçel’s hand-made work reflects on experiences of disruption. They record the body in context with arousal, immigration, dislocation and desire with the film object: its texture, color and the tractable emulsion of the 16mm material. Their use of text as image, language and sound imitates the failure of memory and their own displacement within a western society. Born in Ankara, Turkey, Dinçel immigrated to the United States at age 17. Dinçel resides in Milwaukee, WI where they are currently building an artist run film laboratory. They obtained an MFA in filmmaking from UW-Milwaukee.

During this interview with Emily Eddy, Dinçel discusses how they developed their artistic practice, and relevant influences including growing up in the political climate in Istanbul in the early 2000s impacted their creative interests. While studying and working as a projectionist at UW-Milwaukee, Dinçel was introduced to experimental filmmaking. Among other topics, they reflect on the roles of the individual’s ego and capitalism in the creative practice of the medium and the presence of humor, psychology, feminism, and intimacy in their work.