HollyShorts: Paleonaut - Eric McEver & Robert Tunstall Interview

Photo Credit: JBN Media

Raised in Oklahoma, award-winning filmmaker Eric McEver relocated to Tokyo during college to pursue a passion for Noh theatre. While working variously as an actor, translator, game developer, and animation producer, he developed an offbeat cinematic vision fusing the languages and idiosyncrasies of his two homes.

Between 2010 and 2012 he created The Sansaku, a bilingual, genre-fusing triptych of experimental films consisting of Tutor, Buddha Bento, and Out There Somewhere. He further honed his skills at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he wrote, produced, and directed shorts in Japan, Singapore, the United States, and China. His award-winning student film Layover screened at festivals in the United States and Europe.

He recently completed the multi-award winning Paleonaut, a time travel romance inspired by his lifelong affinity for paleontology, and A Utopia, a documentary chronicling a suicide-obsessed Japanese artist. He is currently developing a trio of feature films under his Ikémen Entertainment banner.

    

A scientist studying the first human time traveller falls in love with her subject. But if her research succeeds they will become separated by eons of history. She must find a way to connect with him across the ages or lose him forever.

Written & Directed by Eric McEver
Starring Tomoko Hayakawa, Yasushi Takada, Balaji Manohar, & Eric Boardman

FILM FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
FilmQuest 2018 Official Selection
Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival 2018 Official Selection
HollyShorts Film Festival 2018 Official Selection
NewFilmmakers New York Official Selection
In The Palace International Short Film Festival 2018 Official Selection
18th deadCenter Film Festival Official Selection
Worldfest Houston 2018
*Silver Remi Award Winner, Science Fiction Film
Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival 2018 Official Selection
Atlanta Film Festival 2018 Official Selection
Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival 2018 Official Selection
*International Short Film Competition Finalist
Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival 2018 Official Selection
*Audience Choice Award
*Best Science Fiction Short Film Award
Boston Science Fiction Film Festival 2018 Official Selection
Other Worlds Austin 2017 Official Selection
Beijing Film Academy International Student Film & Video Festival 2017 Official Selection
*Huayi Brothers Starmarker Award Nomination
Official Selection: 2017 First Run Film Festival
*Wasserman Award Winner: Best Director
*Wasserman Award Finalist: Best Picture
*Best Lead Actress: Tomoko Hayakawa
*Excellence in Producing Award: MuFei Xu
*Best Cinematography: Emilie Silvestri
*Best Production Design: Yun Liang
*Best Editing: Eric McEver

Paleonaut Trailer from Eric McEver on Vimeo.

ABOUT THE CAST
Yasushi Takada ― Kai
Yasushi Takada is known for his work on Paleonaut (2017) and In the Cage (2013).

Eric Boardman ― Announcer (Voice)

Eric Charles Boardman grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He obtained a Psychology degree from Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois. He is mainly noted as a host to various 'Home and Garden TV' shows. He has been the host of various educational children's videos like: 'Prehistoric World', 'Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs' (1987), 'More Dinosaurs' (1991) and 'The Return of Dinosaurs' (1993). He was the host for 'Calling All Cooks'. His childhood heroes included Ernie Banks and Dick Van Dyke.

Balaji Manohar ― Sponsor (Voice)

Balaji Manohar is a cinematographer and actor, known for Arishadvarga (2018), Iqbal(2005) and Chronicles of Hari (2016).

Tomoko Hayakawa ― Lin

Tomoko Hayakawa is an actress and writer, known for Kamen Rider Amazons (2016), Kodokushi (2018) and Ami? Amie? (2013).



FROM AWARD-WINNING COMPOSER ROBERT TUNSTALL.
RELEASED APRIL 11, 2017

Download the Soundtrack 
SOMETHING YOU HAD SPENT YOUR LIFE IMAGINING 00:55
WHY YOU WANTED TO GO 01:08 
THEY ARE ATTEMPTING THE PROCEDURE ON A HUMAN BEING 01:07 
NOT THE WAY YOU CAN/CLOSEST WE COULD GET/IR DIDN'T SEE ME/THIS IS WHAT I BECOME/
THE SUBJECT WILL DIE/IF YOU COULD COME BACK FOR IT
4. Not the Way You Can / Closest We Could Get / It Didn't See Me / This is What I Become / The 08:11 
AND BE PRESERVED 01:57

Eric McEver and Robert Tunstall on the Red Carpet with JBN Journalist, Americo Galli.

Eric McEver and Robert Tunstall on the Red Carpet at HollyShorts.

THE JBN TEAM INTERVIEW WITH ERIV MCEVER AND ROBERT TUNSTALL
JOURNALIST: AMERICO GALLI
LOCATION: HOLLYSHORTS, THE CHINESE THEATER, HOLLYWOOD, CA ― AUGUST 9TH - 18TH
INTERVIEW: AUGUST 12, 2018

HollyShorts takes place August 9-18, 2018 at the TCL Chinese Theater, Harmony Gold Theater and other locations in Hollywood. Nearly 400 short films will compete for the festival’s top prizes. Last year HollyShorts finalists included 3 out of the 5 Live Action Oscar nominees and the winning short Silent Child from Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton. This year, HollyShorts received an all-time record 5,000 submissions from over 80 countries. The competition will feature Live Action, Animation and Documentary Shorts as well as web series, student shorts, music videos, TV pilots, and VR. The festival also features a screenplay competition where the winning short gets greenlit, shot and shown at next year’s festival courtesy of Seattle Film Summit.

Video: Erik Werlin. Audio/Edit: James Vallesteros (@jamesvallesteros). Sound: Edward Chung.

ABOUT HOLLYSHORTS
HollyShorts Film Festival is an organization devoted to showcasing the best and brightest short films from around the globe, advancing the careers of filmmakers through screenings, networking events, and various panel and forums. The Oscar Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival showcases the top short films produced 40- minutes or less. Categories include Short Animation, Short Live Action, Short Documentary, Music Video, Webisode, Commercials, TV, and Digital Microbudget.

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