Since graduating from NC State in 2008, Josh Harrell has co-founded a production studio and is currently working on his first feature-length documentary film.

Harrell graduated with a degree in English and a minor in film studies, and has since relocated to Nashville where his production company, Good People Studios, creates documentaries as well as story-driven advertisements for businesses.

“Storytelling has always been my passion,” Harrell said.

Harrell first started sharing stories with the public while writing for the Technician as a student. He served as Editor-in-Chief for the paper in 2008. Harrell continued his career in journalism working for The Fayetteville Observer after graduating, but said he grew tired of the field after putting so much time into it.

“I was burnt out from journalism.” Harrell said. “I thought, ‘What if I brought film and journalism together to shoot documentaries?’”

Although Harrell had minored in film studies, the program at NC State focuses mainly on theory rather than production, so he said he lacked experience in the technical aspects of the field. Harrell enrolled in Watkins College of Design in Nashville to further study film.

With his background in the history and theories behind filmmaking from NC State, Harrell believes he had a great foundation to learn the technical aspects of producing a film himself.

“Our program places more of an emphasis on theoretical analysis, but we don’t think that leaves students at a disadvantage,” said Tom Wallis, a lecturer in the film studies program at NC State. 

Harrell’s company, Good People Studios, is evidence of this. The studio has released shorts, and Harrell has been working on “Manuel,” his first feature-length film, for the past three years.

“Manuel” is a documentary that depicts Manuel Cuevas, who migrated to the United States from Mexico and designed iconic rhinestone suits for the likes of Elvis, the Beatles and Johnny Cash. Shooting has taken place in both Cuevas’ current home of Nashville and his former home of Mexico City.

“He’s a passionate guy with huge ideas,” Harrell said about Cuevas. “At the same time, his business model is outdated and his work is this relic of an older time.”

Harrell said the film will explore the transition of time while Cuevas stays firm in his ways.

“The film follows Manuel and tells a story through his experiences,” Harrell said.

Harrell is also co-directing with Yuri Sigueroy, a filmmaker with Mexican heritage. 

“Yuri, being from Mexico, can capture the traditional side of Manuel,” Harrell said. “We work together to capture two sides.”

According to Harrell, being able to film at an intimate level with his subjects is important. Unlike more traditional documentaries, the film will not be focused on interviews with Cuevas and his peers, but rather on Cuevas’ everyday life experiences to give the viewer insight to his life and character. 

“In a way, his work is the work of a highly sensitized investigator,” said Devin Orgeron, director of NC State’s film studies program and one of Harrell’s former professors. “He finds a subject and devises a strategy that allows the viewer into that subject.” 

Harrell and Sigueroy continue to work to bring an honest and accurate portrait of what they believe is a fascinating character to the screen.

“The hardest part of documentaries is earning the trust of the subject,” Harrell said.

You can follow the progress of “Manuel” on Facebook by searching “Manuel Documentary Project.”