FilmHawaii Seminar: Eric Byler on Mon, 10/30

A CONVERSATION WITH FILMMAKER ERIC BYLER



Join us as Eric Byler, the provocative, award-winning, independent-spirited hapa writer-director of "Charlotte Sometimes" and "AMERICANese" chats one-on-one with the Hawaii Film Office's Mynette Louie about independent filmmaking, identity politics, Asian Americans in Hollywood, and how Hawaii has influenced his work.

Eric Byler grew up in Hawaii (Moanalua High School grad) and California before graduating from Wesleyan University with a film degree, and has completed three independent feature films.

His first, "Charlotte Sometimes," which he wrote and directed, was nominated for two 2003 Independent Spirit Awards (John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature under $500K and Best Supporting Actress for Jacqueline Kim). Roger Ebert hailed the film as "a breakthrough for Asian American filmmakers" and said, "with its authority and its mood and its tone and its tension, simply captures you, totally absorbs you." Byler then directed "Tre," which screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival last year.

At this year's HIFF, you can catch Byler's third feature, "AMERICANese," an adaptation of Shawn Wong's landmark novel American Knees. Like the book, Byler's film examines Asian American identity politics through the relationship mini-dramas of a second generation Chinese American man. "AMERICANese" stars Chris Tashima, Joan Chen, Sab Shimono, and former Miss Teen USA and Oahu native Kelly Hu, and won an Audience Award and the Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Cast at the 2006 South by Southwest Film Festival.

Byler also has a short project showing at HIFF this week: "My Life Disoriented," which screens with the DisORIENTation Shorts Program, tells the story of two sisters who struggle to fit in after their family relocates to a town with few Asian Americans. Byler first gained notice with his short film "Kenji's Faith," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for a Student Academy Award.

Monday, October 30 @ Noon

Location: Hawaii State Art Museum Multi-Purpose Room, 1st Floor, 250 S. Hotel Street (@ Richards St.)

Parking Options:
* Metered parking on Iolani Palace Grounds (enter on King St.)
* Alii Place garage, 1099 Alakea St.
* Municipal lot (Smith/Beretania)
* Chinatown Gateway (Bethel/Hotel)
* Macy's (King/Bethel)
* Mark's Garage (Nuuanu/Bethel)
* Pioneer Plaza (Merchant/Fort)

>> FREE << Members of the local film industry and the general public are invited to attend.

Presented by: Hawaii Film Office, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, State of Hawaii

Special thanks to: Anderson Le of the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival

The FilmHawaii Seminar Series is presented by the Hawaii Film Office periodically throughout the year to inform and educate the members of the local film industry and the film-interested public on practical topics related to the business of film and television production.

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