BY THE MARYSVILLE JOURNAL-TRIBUNE STAFF
MARYSVILLE — Union County is about to become a marquee name. Literally.
Filmmakers are currently in neighboring Logan County shooting a feature film called, oddly enough, Union County, a story about a recovering addict making his way through drug court and trying to get back on his feet. It stars Will Poulter and Noah Centineo. There are also reports some filming could take place in this county.
Poulter, a British actor known for films such as We’re the Millers, The Chronicles of Narnia and most recently, Warfare, and Centineo, known for Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and also Warfare, were seen in and around Bellefontaine late last year.
The city’s beer bar, Brewfontaine, posted on social media in December, “We had some special visitors stop in while checking out downtownbellefontaine!!! Thanks for having lunch with us Noah Centineo & Will Poulter!!!! See you guys soon!!!” as well as sharing a photo with the actors.
It turns out, the actors were there in connection with the film.
Union County is directed by Adam Meeks, a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York but with ties to Ohio. In an interview from 2020, Meeks said his family is from central Ohio originally and that he still visits his relatives here every year. He said he learned about the impact of opioids in the state and decided to do a film about the subject matter.
His first run at the story was Union County, a short film about a young man in rural Ohio navigating a drug court recovery program and the return of his ex-girlfriend. It was shot in and around Logan and Union counties and locals might recognize landscapes or buildings in the backgrounds of shots. Marysville residents might recognize locations such as Franke’s Wood Products, which serves as the main character Cody’s place of employment, shown at the film’s start.
The film played at the Berlinale International Film Festival in 2020 and around the world at other notabble festivals like the Champs-Élysées Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Palm Springs International ShortFest, Florida Film Festival, Monmouth Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Montana Film Festival, Tacoma Film Festival and Blue Danube Film Festival.
After its festival run, Meeks started working on a script for a longer version.
When the short was released, Meeks thanked the people on social media in both counties who helped get the film made.
“This began as an expression of my love for central Ohio and my recognition within the recovery community of a hope that is beautiful and messy and very real,” he said in one post.
“Deeply indebted to a brilliant cast and crew who led with their hearts, and to the family and friends and community in Ohio who met us with generosity and courage in spades. A dream come true,” he said in another post.
Meeks has said in interviews that the feature-length version will be a loosely expanded version of the short, which started filming last month.
Meeks’ other works include the documentary Bitterroot and the short film, Furlong. Union County will be his first feature film.
The short film is available to view on Meeks’ Vimeo page.