You know his face.

You may know it from his performances in offbeat David Lynch works like Eraserhead or Twin Peaks, or you may know it from his supporting roles in The Blob remake or Colors.

Nevertheless, you don't know Jack. Nance, that is.

The 2002 Great Lakes Independent Film Festival in Erie, which began yesterday, will showcase -- among other independent features --David Lynch Presents I Don't Know Jack, a documentary about the fascinating life of the character actor Jack Nance leading up to his mysterious murder in December 1996.

It's a homecoming for the director of the film, Pennsylvania native and Penn State alumnus Chris Leavens.

Leavens said the idea came about after hearing repeated stories about the actor while he was working in Los Angeles.

"This guy Jack Nance just kept coming up in conversation and these stories were amazing," Leavens said.

His first exposure to Nance, however, was long before that.

"When I was at Penn State, me and my friends used to like to watch really weird movies," he said. "So, eventually we rented Eraserhead and were like, 'Man, this is a great movie!' "

Leavens also credited that film along with the 1982 film Hammett as evidence that Nance was a good actor, though toward the end of his career he was mostly doing "cheesy films," which Nance himself considered a joke.

So, after getting money from his boss at Next Step Studios to shoot the film -- which Leavens estimates ended up costing less than $100,000 -- he asked his friend, collaborator and fellow Penn State graduate Michael Wargo to be the film's editor.

"It began a long journey," Wargo said of the film's two-year shoot and subsequent promotion at film festivals from Kansas City, Kan. to Cannes, France.

"Jack Nance was a really interesting man," he said. "Usually in films, there is a tendency to sensationalize things. We tried to paint a portrait of who this person really was."

One person who felt he knew Nance while watching the movie was Leavens' brother, Penn State student Nick Leavens (senior-theater).

"I didn't know much about Jack Nance before the film, but his is a really wonderful story and yet kind of frightening," Nick Leavens said, referring to Nance's death.

"You really get a chance to see how, whether someone makes it or misses it in Hollywood, he or she can still have a fulfilling life in the long run," he said.

Regarding Nance's struggles with alcoholism and his unique personality, Nick Leavens said appearances are not always what they seem.

"From the stories you hear about him, he sounds like a real bastard. But, then, when you talk to friends of his or people who knew him well, you see how they only have the warmest things to say about him," he said.

Some of those people include Hollywood personalities such as Dennis Hopper and David Lynch.

Leavens said getting Lynch to sit down for an interview took some considerable effort, but Lynch was extremely nice.

Lynch was so impressed with the film that he agreed to attach his name to it to make the film more marketable.

However, not every aspect of the shoot ran as smoothly.

After the completion of the first rough cut of the film, the filmmakers had to deal with a theft and blackmail attempt.

One of the producers, whose name has since been taken off the film, allegedly stole the film and held it for $10,000 ransom because she thought she was being unfairly excluded, Leavens said.

After agreeing to pay $2,000 for what they thought were the recovered tapes, the other producers found several of the tape cases to be filled with nothing but rice, the men said.

Not all of the tapes were stuffed, however, Wargo explained.

The unedited master cut of the film remained in one of the tape cases. "That's not the type of thing they can prepare you for in film school," Wargo said, in regards to the incident.

Wargo and Leavens both added that what they learned in Penn State's film program was of invaluable significance.

"Take advantage of the resources they have here," Leavens advises students in the film program. "Because, it might be a long time before you get the chance to shoot on real film again. In the real world, film is expensive."

He also advised aspiring filmmakers to "work hard not to work for somebody. Ignore the Hollywood glitz and do something of quality."

In addition, Wargo had some advice for students interested in a future in editing.

"When you edit, you have to really try and understand the subject matter and story, so that you can develop your own style," he said.

"Learn the Avid. Take advantage of tools. Take time to practice," he added.

He also reassured that, in film, you get better with practice.

David Lynch Presents I Don't Know Jack will be shown at 11:30 p.m. today and also at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Avalon Hotel on West 10th Street in Erie.