A Cinematic Love Letter to Raleigh

New short film turns Raleigh streets into a love story.

For creatives, “write what you know” is gospel—and filmmaker/producer Darryl Jones puts it to use in his newest short film, Tandem. The project is both a love letter to his wife and Triangle native Hillary—and to Raleigh itself. And as the name implies, cycling takes center stage—a symbol, Jones says, of spontaneity and possibility.

The film follows a lovestruck couple riding along the Cap City’s suburban streets and tree-lined hills. The setting isn’t just cinematography—it’s part of the journey. As protagonists B.W. and Kittie pedal from DTR toward the quieter suburbs, their relationship evolves in step. 

You’ll see nods to Jones’ own story. A Wilmington native, he first landed in Raleigh as an NC State undergrad, then moved to Cali with his then-girlfriend—now wife—before circling back to the Triangle in 2023.

The film opens in Oakwood, where Jones and Hillary first lived together, before rolling into her formative neighborhood Oak Park. From there, it moves into some of Raleigh’s greenest terrain. Scenes shot at NCMA’s outdoor park and Umstead State Park carry particular weight for the creative. “The more Raleigh gets developed, the more important a place like Umstead becomes,” he emphasizes. “So that’s where we end the movie.”

Pivoting from his earlier short films, which leaned on casts, Tandem centers on a single connection. “With a lot of characters, there’s sometimes not enough time for arcs, changes and journeys,” he explains. “I wanted to do something that was very fundamental—like two people who meet, and by the end of the movie, they’ve fallen in love.”

Jones’ passion for place doesn’t end on-screen—it extends behind the camera to his team, most of whom call the Triangle home. Rebuilding his local network after his move back, he says, meant hitting reset—but not for long. He recruited half the crew through one of the New Carolinas Film Collective’s happy hours, co-hosted in Durham by one of Tandem’s producers Blake Kinsey.

“Regional filmmaking is the future of the industry, especially on the independent side,” says the filmmaker. “And I think more important than anything else is for NC—and the Triangle in particular—to develop its own identity. That means telling stories about NC, about all people from NC.”

Tandem is already making waves with its debut at the Carrboro Film Festival—and screens next at the Rialto Feb. 6—a chance to see the City of Oaks from a different vantage point on the big screen. therialto.com

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