SOUL HAPPY. Avan Jogia discusses art, essential happiness and his upcoming feature film “Paper Year”
Outfit by 3.1 Phillip Lim
First coming to prominence in the 2006 biographical film “A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story,” Avan Jogia has since appeared in a wide variety of genres, while also plunging headfirst into activism and also directing. Still, for Jogia, creativity and happiness go far beyond film and Hollywood.
Miss Tiger: I bet you didn’t think we’d begin this interview with chatting about your Instagram, but I love your account! The posts are thought provoking and organized in a curated, thematic presentation. It’s as if it’s a triptych of your cosmic consciousness.
Avan Jogia: I’m rather particular and I like expressions that are like-minded in some sort of way. Whether it’s what you’re wearing, the movies you make or what’s on your Instagram, it should feel congruent. I love aesthetics and style. The reason I post in a series of three is that it captures a feeling and it seems like a mini movie to me. I just can’t take pictures of my lunch!
Outfit by Givenchy
Miss Tiger: And thank you for that … and for refraining from posting pics of your Starbucks order.
Avan Jogia: Posts can get kind of messy and expressions of self should be clean!
Miss Tiger: How does an insightful method such as your visual posts parlay into the projects you direct?
Avan Jogia: As a director, I’m incredibly visual. It carries over to my directing in regards to having the ability to tell a story with a visual shorthand that increases both the audience’s awareness of the plot and increases the subversive nature of a subplot. For example, in Kubrick’s film “The Shining,” his work with Native American prints and numerology are placed in the background of the film. These visuals can be unpacked in many ways by the audience … especially if you’re a complete film nerd. It’s important to put a lot of thought into what a visual conveys to the audience about a story.
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Miss Tiger: Storytelling is intimate and the art of storytelling in itself is a shared experience familiar to all of us. What are some of the ways that storytelling from the perspective of a director differs from the perspective of storytelling by an actor?
Avan Jogia: There’s the mechanization aspect to any film and then there is the emotional side to it. Directing is pragmatically different in that you’re given an opportunity and ability to have your DNA and fingerprint on every aspect of the film making process. Whereas as an actor, I like to stay away from the process and just get myself into the landscape of the character. My focus is on achieving the artistic goals of the scene and role.
Outfit by Alexander Wang
Miss Tiger: When I have a connection or bond with someone, I often share a copy of The Prophet by Khalil Gibran with them. It makes my day to learn that he is a person you’d like to play in a film one day.
Avan Jogia: Yes, absolutely. The Prophet is a self-help book in the form of a scripture as far as my life is concerned. I love his work and Khalil Gibran is one of the most sensitive souls to ever walk the Earth as far as his writing is concerned.
Leather jacket by Chapter, shirt by Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garçons man
Miss Tiger: Perhaps an interpretation of Gibran’s work is something you could write, direct and star in? The poetic prose would make for a lush series of philosophical short films.
Avan Jogia: I like that idea. The book has an interesting structure and format in order to set a series of shorts around. Acting, writing and directing the same project can be hard. It depends on the project. If it’s an emotionally draining character you’re playing, you can’t be directing the film.
Outfit by Alexander Wang
Miss Tiger: You really are a modern Renaissance Man!
Avan Jogia: Hmmm … am I some sort of oil painting or something? Just kidding. Seriously, being referred to as a Renaissance Man is a great compliment. Thank you. There was a time, that’s long gone, where you had to be good at everything. We’re in the middle of a Renaissance right now. You can’t just do one thing; you have to do many things but what becomes more important is not your skill at something but rather, what is your personal stamp on something? I don’t feel I have to be a master at something to attempt it. In the attempt of it I will fail and do some things wrong and get better.
Outfit by Givenchy
Miss Tiger: You’re in competition with yourself?
Avan Jogia: It’s the healthiest person to be in competition with. You don’t compare yourself or achievements to other people. It’s about someone always being better than themselves and being inspired by other people instead of being terrified of them. I’ve had dreams and aspirations since I was a kid. I want to get things done and achieved.
Miss Tiger: Is it about drive or talent?
Avan Jogia: It’s the drive that we should teach instead of focusing on the talent.
shirt by Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garçons Man, pants by Alexander Wang
Miss Tiger: When I meet creative and successful people, there is an appreciation for people who have a lot of things going on. You’ve said that you admire people for their vocation and hobbies. Tell me a little about that.
Avan Jogia: You have to have something that’s real and tangible. We live in a world where most of our jobs are essentially e-mails. You can’t get the satisfaction of looking at an e-mail and saying, “I made that. I was a part of that.” That’s why you have to have an art form such as woodworking, painting, pottery or whatever you’re into. Without these things, you don’t have anything to show for all your work other than emails…
Miss Tiger: Speaking of you being a part of something, I’m looking forward to the release of “Paper Year.” The film is written and directed by Rebecca Addelman and stars yourself, Eve Hewson along with Andie MacDowell and Hamish Linklater. What do you love about this film?
Avan Jogia: What I love about this film is that it’s a smart and elegant observation of what serious commitment is like at a very young age. It’s well-structured and Rebecca is awesome. It is a film about two people who get married and the first day of the marriage is the happiest day. Slowly but surely throughout the plot the marriage starts to fall apart.
Jacket by Wonders
Miss Tiger: Do they find closure or happiness at some point?
Avan Jogia: It asks the question about if the timing of love is right, and if you need to be a complete person before you give yourself to someone. It’s not a silly love story with a bow wrapped on it at the end. It talks about loose ends that life inevitably has.
Miss Tiger: You believe that there are things people can wake up each day and do that makes them happy. What are you doing today that makes you happy?
Avan Jogia: Today I am drinking wine with friends and cooking salmon. It can’t always be about creative output. It’s got to be about moments that are intangible as well. I think we get so bogged down in being results-orientated, we feel like unless some product is being made, you’re not productive. I always tell myself that cooking and drinking wine with friends is never a waste of an afternoon or, indeed, a lifetime!
Photography Mitchell Nguyen McCormack
Styling Lauren Larocca
Interviewer Miss Tiger
Grooming Grace Phillips at State Artists Management using GOA Skincare
Fashion Assistant Courtney Leday
Special thanks to Moji at Helping Hand Thrift Store