Lotfy Nathan and his film, 12 O’Clock Boys, toiled for years before skyrocketing from the unknown to a documentary sensation. With its high speed chases and depictions of youth in revolt, the director’s first feature film sells us gritty action with a thumping spirit at its core.

An advance screening of the film, one that is free and open to the public, will debut in Witherspoon on Wednesday night. Nathan will be present to introduce the film and lead a discussion with the audience.

12 O’Clock Boys follows the titular illegal dirt-bike gang that runs rampant through the streets of Baltimore, MD. N.C. State students will have the opportunity to see the highly anticipated film for free on campus before its premiere at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in downtown Durham this weekend.

The coordination of the event stems from the film studies program’s long-standing relationship with Full Frame.

Along with the 13 students chosen to participate as Full Frame Fellows – which allows them passes to screenings and to attend sessions with directors – the campus gets the benefit of a visiting filmmaker every year, Marsha Gordon, director of film studies, said.

Gordon said she has not yet seen the film, but the festival coordinators typically provide a film that has good media buzz and a director students can benefit from talking with.

“The films we show each year, you typically can’t see anywhere else until and unless they get picked up for distribution or if you go to the festival,” Gordon said.

According to Nathan, the film started out as a school project during his undergraduate years at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

“I wasn’t even specializing in film,” Nathan said. “I think the reason that I was able to continue with it was because I didn’t want to just see it as a ‘student work.’ I think that’s limiting. I think that you have to have a certain pride, or passion, that dictates beyond anything being a student project.”

It would take four-and-a-half years before 12 O’Clock Boys was finally completed, Nathan said. The film was partially funded by the popular crowdsourcing site, Kickstarter. With 603 backers and $30,910 pledged, 12 O’Clock Boys reached and surpassed its funding goal on March 6.

“I think that every artist trying to get something off the ground should look to Kickstarter in some capacity,” Nathan said. “Beyond the money that you’re trying to raise, it can build amazing connections. It puts the film on the radar of a lot of people.”

According to Nathan, his vision for the film started off as a way to capture the action element of the group. It wasn’t until Nathan met Pug, a 13 year old boy who aspired to join the 12 O’Clock Boys, that the film took on a different tone.

“I met Pug almost a year-and-a-half after I started filming,” Nathan said. “He quickly proved to be the heart of the story. It clicked that Pug could be the point of entry for an audience.”

The film’s trailer demonstrates Pug’s youth and naïve eagerness amongst the chaotic lifestyle of the dirt bikers riding down highways and clashing with law enforcement.

“To show that kind of sensationalism explains the impulse for a kid like Pug, a 13-year-old boy growing up in intercity Baltimore, looking for something to adhere to,” Nathan said.

Nathan added that filming the 12 O’Clock Boys was occasionally dangerous, as there were skirmishes with police.

“The topic of the film is really interesting and socially relevant too, a rare and important combination,” Gordon said. “I think students should learn about the world they live in and this is a film that I suspect will inspire its audience to think about a small segment of that world in ways that they likely had not before.”

12 O’Clock Boys’ intrigue and controversy garnered itself attention by SXSW, which has been hosted in Austin, Texas since 1994. The documentary was one of the eight chosen from over 900 submissions, according to the SXSW website.

“It was an incredible experience and the reception was really good,” Nathan said.

Nathan advises young filmmakers to have the fortitude to withstand pressure when pursuing projects.

“It took me years to finish 12 O’Clock Boys and I can’t tell you how many times I thought it was over, wanted it to be over or was ready to give up on it even being,” Nathan said, “but you just need to have a lot of risk endurance and a big threshold for failure if you want a project to actually succeed because no one is going to sweat over it the way you will.”

The 12 O’Clock Boys free screening and discussion with Nathan will be at 7p.m. on Wednesday.

“Anyone with any ambitions to creative work or to work on social issues should consider taking this opportunity to learn from someone telling an important story like this,” Gordon said.