Growing up in Black Mountain, Will Lance concentrated much of his time and energy on the performing arts. The 2022 Owen High School graduate, who studied film and theater before pursuing his bachelor of arts in the Western Carolina University School of Stage and Screen, never contemplated the nearly 100 acres of green space, towering trees and rolling hills he regularly passed his entire life.

“I’ve never swung a golf club in my life,” he said, motioning to the surrounding Black Mountain Golf Course. “I just kind of knew this place was important to a lot people around here, but I had no idea why.”

The course’s significance in the community was something the rising college senior would come to understand, intimately, as the nearly century-old facility became the focal point of his directorial debut, co-produced by his best friend Knox Moussette. When the duo premieres “The Jewel of the Town,” at 6:30 p.m., Friday, July 18, in the Owen auditorium, the documentary will explore the passion and complexities surrounding the town-owned property in the aftermath of Helene.

Tickets for the event are $10 at the door, with half the proceeds benefitting the Owen golf program, which has long utilized the facility as its home course.

Like many in his generation, Lance began creating content as a middle schooler, posting short clips of him and his friends.

“They were really cringy, so eventually I just took them all down,” he said. “But, that was how I figured out I wanted to get serious about this and learn everything I can about production.”

As a freshman in high school, he enrolled in a filmmaking class taught by longtime Owen theater teacher Lyn Nihart, and rigorously pursued the craft. By the time he graduated, Lance had starred in an unreleased short film project and landed a role as Prince Titus in a school production of Cinderella.

“I fell in love with it, and that’s how I felt every single day,” he said. “It gave me such a cool feeling, and I knew this was definitely what I wanted to do.”

Acting and writing became his primary studies in the field throughout his first three years at WCU, but as he returned to Black Mountain for his final summer as an undergraduate, Lance viewed his break as an opportunity to get behind the camera. He found inspiration in an unlikely place.

“I’m only here during the summer and one month in the winter,” he said. “So, last May, I was walking by the golf course and noticed it wasn’t open, and didn’t look like it was being used. It occurred to me that I hadn’t even seen it since the storm.”

The facility was one of many town-owned properties damaged, last September, by Tropical Storm Helene. It remained closed until the back nine holes were reopened, June 24. The future of the course was a hot topic among local residents when Lance began looking into the situation.

“I saw there were a few town meetings where the golf course had come up, and then I started seeing so many people, whether in those meetings or on social media, who were passionate about this place,” he said. “This town means so much to me, so I wanted to hear what they had to say and tell the story in a way that really captured people’s voices and their strong emotional connection to the course.”

Lance borrowed a camera from a friend and turned to Moussette to assist with the documentary. The team brought complementary skill sets to the project, culminating with the production of a 48-minute film.