Joey Nelms joined Belhaven University after gaining extensive industry experience across Mississippi, Georgia, and California. He holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a B.A. in Visual Art from Belhaven University.
With a background in screenplay development, Nelms has pitched work to Netflix, T-Street Productions, and Universal, securing contracts with production companies in Los Angeles and Jackson. He has served as a department head on several feature films, working as Director, Producer, Editor, and Script Supervisor, and has post-production experience with Universal/NBC under an overall deal with Esmail Corp., involving prestige streaming projects starring Julia Roberts and Nick Offerman.
Joey Nelms is the co-founder of production company American Pantheon. He has experience in both digital and celluloid film production. Nelms has worked with production companies worldwide, including Warner Brothers, Universal, Lionsgate, and Anonymous Content, as well as some of the industry’s leading post houses, such as Fotokem/Keep Me Posted, Studio Post, and Margarita Mix.
After seeing hundred-million-dollar productions up close, Nelms has come to believe that boundless financing is not the make-or-break of successful filmmaking, but rather rootedness in the great tradition, philosophical depth, and an authentic process. Nelms believes that while great films can, and have often been, dramatic in nature, the power of the moving image extends beyond narrative into poetry and ineffable experience.
Nelms teaches courses in film production, editing, directing, screenwriting, cinematography, cinema history, and film theory. He believes filmmaking as a practice is best performed with a thorough understanding of the great, historic works of human expression, including works of poetry, drama, literature, history, philosophy, and religious writing, especially within the Christian tradition. As such, Nelms has wrapped the film production curricula around the historic Oxbridge tutorial methods of wide reading, extensive writing, and small cohort discussion to undergird students' artistic visions and filmmaking processes.
Nelms is married to his one true love, Casey, whom he met in high school. Together, they live with their daughter and two beagles.
Awards
Best Feature Film (Nom.), Blow-Up Chicago International Film Fest, 2022
Best Short Film, Experimental, Buenos Aires International Film Fest, 2021
