Our team
A message from the writer/director about our core team.
Hello, I'm Nole, pictured on the lefthand side of the photo. This is my personal message to those who generous enough to take the time to express interest in this film.
Having been a filmmaker since the age of 8 using a 720p camcorder, I have had an unquenchable thirst for movies and storytelling my entire life. Growing up in a small town, I did not have anyone to teach me what a close up is or how to edit clips together. I learned by making home movies with my family and friends.
I later improved my skills even further at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where I was able to find my creative voice and style, with the help of some incredible professors. I took a one-on-one mentorship class with one of these professors, with the sole purpose of finding the right idea for my first film. After a year of pitching him nearly one hundred ideas, which had to adhere to his high standards of storytelling, we finally landed on one. It is that very film that this website is dedicated to.
Since I graduated in 2022, I have been doing everything in my power to make this film a reality. I have been making professional videos, both freelance and full time for a large company. I have been working on the script and putting the pieces together nonstop, every day, for two years.
While I have never directed a feature film before, I have done everything that I can to be great at it. This is a passion that I feel in my blood, and I have been graced with having tremendous help from my family, friends, and teachers along the way. I am not going to let them down.
With the proper crew, and just enough resources, I believe we can make a film that has never been seen before, and will touch the hearts of those watching it. When undertaking a huge project such as making a film, there will always be certain unknowns, such as how the project will turn out, and how it will be received by an audience, but I promise you this - I will devote my entire essence to delivering you the best film, with every fiber of my being.
Director of Photography - Blake Ellis
Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, cinematography is in Blake's blood. Not only can he take apart a camera, name every piece and tell you what it does, but also create amazing images with it. All the images on this website were captured by Blake here in Wilmington. (You can check out his other work at blakeellisfilm.com)
He has also worked on and gathered extensive knowledge on the hit HBO series The Righteous Gemstones. Working his way up in the camera department, Blake learned how to operate and run a camera team, which will be incredibly useful for our film.
Me and Blake became friends originally at the UNCSA Summer camp program, and later again when we attended the school for four years studying films. With a small crew and minuscule budget, we crafted a 30 minute long thesis film together that received an incredibly strong reaction from our screening. We found that we have similar visions for scenes and discovered that we worked incredibly well together. We faced many challenges on this thesis film - and learned the art of problem solving together.
Blake's past work speaks for itself, and equally important he is one of the hardest workers that I know, who operates extremely heavy equipment, and worked minimum twelve-hour days on productions. He knows how to create amazing images weather the budget is two dollars or two million. There will be a lot of guerilla style filmmaking on this project, his talent and expertise will help exponentially with that.
The Wolf of Wilmington - Jake Holman
Having met Jake in French class all the way back in seventh grade, we have been the best of friends ever since. He later moved to Wilmington, and I would visit him often. During these visits, I slowly started to realize that there was an incredible story here in Wilmington, waiting to be made.
Jake was incredibly instrumental in my early film career. When I first started making serious short films in high school, Jake was always there, ready to act, get punched in the face by a slasher villain, or thrown on top of a break away table. While he did not have any official acting training, everyone would tell me how good he was in my student films.
Years later, I received an assignment in college to make a film project about an interesting person in your life that could make for a great film character. I chose Jake as my film subject, and crafted a video about his very interesting life. Upon its completion, my directing professors loved it, and told me that this character was very much worth pursuing. Not only is he a great friend, but a highly talented and incredibly interesting person to center a feature film around.
Equally as important in regards to making a film, Jake is an incredibly hard worker who's energy I have yet to find a match for. Besides being a great fit for this character, he is one of the most dependable people that I know. We have been through thick and thin together, and I know he will still be acting his butt off at the end of a twelve hour day.