He has been productive in quarantine, working on his first music video, getting things in motion to produce his first feature film, fine-tuning a one-man musical he has been developing for the past year and a half, getting ready to pitch a TV show idea, and preparing for the debut of his latest film, which will be opening in Los Angeles’ Dances With Films virtual festival later this week.

In short, he’s been staying busy. “You get to flex these different muscles,” he said. “It’s been a weirdly fruitful quarantine.”

His new movie, “Paper Spiders,” is a coming-of-age drama about Melanie (Stefania LaVie Owen), a young woman getting ready to head off to college while worried about her mother (Lili Taylor), whose mental illness has been growing stronger. Nelson plays a charismatic, charming, but troubled young man who has been in and out of boarding schools and just spent the previous summer in rehab for alcoholism. He and Melanie find kindred spirits in each other, and start to form a relationship her mother does not approve of.

“It’s a story about a girl growing up and coming to terms with her life,” Nelson said, explaining that Melanie “has to figure out a way to be true to herself without turning her back on family.”

The cast also includes Peyton List, David Rasche, Max Casella and Tom Papa. Tickets for the virtual screening, at www.dwfla.com, are $11. This is the 23rd year of the festival, which had to move online this year.

Nelson, 25, grew up in Winston-Salem and attended Forsyth Country Day School. He has been interested in acting and performing for most of his life, getting his start in the local arts scene, including Forsyth Country Day’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and the Piedmont Opera’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” His feature film debut was in 2012’s “The Hunger Games,” which was filmed in North Carolina. He played one of the rival tributes. He went on to appear in such films as “The Judge,” “The Boy Next Door,” “Like Me,” “Summer Night,” “Freak Show,” and the TV shows “There’s … Johnny” and “Teen Wolf.”

Much of his attention lately has been on getting ready for his musical debut, recording and spending time in isolation with his guitar. His first single, which he is working on a music video for, is a “pretty straight-forward pop song, more in the rock and blues vibe,” he said.

He feels his music skills have improved during his isolation. “What I love about the guitar is you do what you want with it,” he said. “I’ve gotten more mature in my guitar playing.” He figures he will aim for a September release of his first single, followed by another and then perhaps a five-song EP album next year.

“It’s been a great complement to the acting,” he said. “There’s only so much Zoom acting you can do.” But he has used the online service to read through scenes with his friends from their homes, running through material from a film he hopes to produce and star in. 

“Paper Spiders” was originally going to play theatrically, but he sees a benefit to it going virtual, because that means people back home can see it.

“Winston-Salem has such a great community,” he said, reminiscing about his days watching movies at Aperture Cinema, where he also returned over the years for several screenings of his films. He hasn’t been back to see his family and friends in Winston-Salem since the pandemic began – “travelling is not so simple, it’s better to err on the side of caution,” he said – but he is happy audiences here will be able to see the movie in real time on Thursday night.

“My acting family, my blood family, and my friends back in North Carolina can be connected,” he said. “I thought that could be nice, that could be fun.”

He recalls talking with his mother several months back about how the pandemic will challenge peoples’ creativity. “It’s been tough,” he said, “it’s a strange moment in the world we’re all experiencing right now, but I’m trying to make the most of it, while not ignoring the immense confusion of it.”