UNC artist-in-residence directs film, 'About Time', to premiere at the Varsity Theatre

Joseph Megel is bringing quality filmmaking to Chapel Hill.

He and a group of UNC professors, alumni and affiliates have produced a short film that will premiere this weekend at the Varsity Theatre.

“About Time” is a creation that stems from the StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance and Harland’s Creek Productions.

Megel, a UNC artist-in-residence in the communications department and the co-artistic director of the company, directed “About Time.”

“About Time” is a coming-of-age story about a young man who is struggling both in the acting industry and with his family.

“It’s a film of character, and it’s a film of texture,” Megel said. “It’s a very human film — it’s just about human relationships and how they affect us.”

Megel’s writing partner Elisabeth Lewis Corley wrote “About Time.”

She said the film production was special because they used local actors and shot in locations like the UNC campus and Pittsboro.

She said she enjoyed the challenge of writing short form for a set group of actors in a set location.

“It works just like a poem,” she said. “If you have certain limitations, they increase the potential for magic and for things to just sort of happen.”

Corley said that StreetSigns’ mission is to make filmmaking more prominent in the region, and by doing so, increase film diversity in the industry.

“We can bring the art of filmmaking closer to the artists who make film,” Corley said.

Megel said he often incorporates talent from UNC in his films.

“We’re very into locally grown, locally found art,” he said.

Marie Garlock , a UNC Ph.D. candidate for communications and performance, plays Rachel in “About Time.” She said she has worked with Megel for several years.

“I really admire his work and the way it interfuses an arts environment in the region,” she said. “‘About Time’ was a tour de force of local artists in collaboration.”

The film will premiere at the Varsity on Sunday night alongside award-winning short film “Easy Street” from UNC alumnus Russell Greene.

Greene, who wrote, directed and produced “Easy Street,” was also the editor for “About Time.” Megel said that he connected with Greene when searching for an editor and liked Greene’s philosophies of art making.

For “Easy Street,” Greene collaborated with another UNC alumnus, Cliff Gardner.

Gardner, a lawyer, and Greene wrote a script about a young man interviewing for a position as a lawyer for an eccentric judge.

The film has been in 30 festivals throughout the country and has won five major awards, including two from the Real to Reel Film Festival in Kings Mountain, N.C.

Corley said that the next step for “About Time” is to, like “Easy Street,” get onto the festival circuit.

But Megel said screenings close to home like this one are essential to the film industry’s grassroots growth.

“The fact that the Varsity has become this place where we can find accessibility for local screenings is a terrific thing.”

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.