“All in Time” makes its debut in Downtown Wilkes-Barre

Just as a damsel in distress needs rescuing, Charlie sets out to save his beloved “Damnsels”.

The award-winning film, “All in Time”, will premiere at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 16.

Wilkes students and local residents alike will recognize many locations in the film, as it was shot almost entirely in Wilkes-Barre.

Chuck Yarmey, a carpenter at Wilkes who served as production designer for the movie, said that the cameramen got a lot of great footage of Wilkes-Barre.  Although the film was low-budget, it looks professionally done.  Both Yarmey and director Chris Fetchko credit Dave Dunlap for this aspect.

Fetchko remarked that Dunlap “shot in such a way that Wilkes-Barre is essentially a character in the movie.”

Dave Dunlap, director of photography, is well-known for his cinematic success in Goodfellas, Forrest Gump, and the series House of Cards, which earned him a primetime Emmy nomination.

“All in Time” has accumulated awards as well.  So far it boasts a total of 12 film festival awards, including one each in Amsterdam and Milan. Yarmey says the international film festivals have helped in advertising Wilkes to a greater community and presenting the campus and city in a very positive light.

Set in the 90s, the film chronicles Charlie (Sean Modica), a man who quits his New York  job to manage his favorite rock band in Pennsylvania.

Tired of the monotony of office work which he feels has no meaning, Charlie decides to pursue his passion and help The Damnsels in their time of need: the band’s popularity is at an all-time low and their lead guitarist is about to quit.  With so much love for the band, Charlie just can’t let that happen.

Perhaps too optimistic and a little daring, Charlie promises to bring The Damnsels success.  Willing to give it a shot, the band members wish to grant their admirer that chance–all except one, the lead guitarist, Glen (Josh Burrow).

The question of what concert he would relive if he could go back in time sparks an interesting concept in Charlie’s brain-a concert for time travelers.

Glen’s pessimistic attitude wrecks havoc on Charlie’s attempts to save the band’s career, and ultimately Charlie loses everything he loves.

Now broke, single, and emotionally-unstable, Charlie is ready to give up.  That is, until his elderly neighbor Mrs. Joshman (Lynn Cohen) yells at him to pull himself together.  Charlie tries to win back his ex-girlfriend and works endlessly to book shows with the help of his young intern.

Amidst all this, Charlie finds a demo CD in his car.  He listens to it and looks for its singer, Laura, whose character is a student at Wilkes University. She is hesitant and shy, but eventually agrees to record some songs in the studio.  Soon an accompanying band is formed and Laura performs in concert for time-travelers.  The venue fills up quickly with fans of the future packing the Chameleon Club.

Although time travel is not possible in real life, it is however very easy to travel just minutes away to the Kirby Center on Sunday to find out all the twists and turns in All in Time.  The film will be shown at 2:00 PM, followed by musical performances by The Badlees and Laura Shay.

Both have Pennsylvanian roots.  The Badlees performed regularly in Wilkes-Barre and Central/Northeastern PA, and Laura Shay is an independent artist from Philadelphia.  Fetchko wrote the script with the two acts in mind, and as Yarmey noted, “their music helps carry the story.”

“All in Time”  is touring the country in big cities, such as Boston, Denver, and Chicago, and will have theatrical runs in both New York City and Los Angeles.  Yarmey thinks it would be neat if Wilkes alumni who live near these cities would see the film.

The concert after the screening will only be in select cities; Wilkes-Barre is one of them.  Fetchko hopes for a good turnout here where the movie was set and filmed.  He pointed out that the Kirby has shown many films and hosted many rock concerts but that “the two together is few and far between.”

Yarmey spoke of NEPA locals “snickering when you tell them you made a film in Wilkes-Barre.”  But All in Time is not like other movies.  “People will really enjoy it. If [skeptical locals] go see it, they will be pleasantly surprised.”

Fetchko proclaims it as “a script that people could respond to.”  And that they will.

Tickets are $20 in advance/$25 days of the show.  Visit allintimefilm.com andkirbycenter.org for details.