Eric Byler
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Eric Byler is an American film director, screenwriter and political activist. He is Hapa (bi-racial) with a Chinese American mother and a Caucasian American father. He grew up in Virginia, Hawaii (where he attended Moanalua High School), and California. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1994, majoring in film. He currently resides in Virginia.
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[edit] Filmmaker
Byler's senior thesis film, Kenji's Faith, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995, won six film festival awards, and was a regional finalist in the Student Academy Awards.
His first feature film, charlotte sometimes was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards in 2003, including the John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature under $500,000, and a Best Supporting Actress award for Jacqueline Kim. The film was called "Fascinating and illuminating" by film critic Roger Ebert, and won numerous festival awards, including an Audience Award at South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) and the Best Dramatic Feature at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. The film was distributed theatrically by Visionbox and Small Planet Pictures before being released on DVD.
His second feature, Americanese also won an Audience Award, for Best Narrative Feature, at SXSW, in addition to a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Cast. The film will be released by IFC First Take in August 2007.
Byler also directed the indie feature, TRE, and the PBS / ITVS Television pilot, My Life Disoriented. He is currently working of a documentary about his experience during the 2006 elections (see 'Policial Activist' below).
He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America.
[edit] Political Activist
Byler has been active is past elections, often volunteering for canvassing efforts, as he did for John Kerry in 2004.
In fall of 2006, Byler's primary focus became the Virginia U.S. Senate election. In response to incumbent Sen. George Allen's use of the term "Macaca" on the campaign trail, referring to a South Asian American student from the University of Virginia, Byler and others rallied the Asian American community together, forming a group calling themselves "Real Virginians for Webb," to back Allen's democratic opponent, Jim Webb. Their efforts can be credited as a significant contributing factor to Webb's eventual victory, where he won the final vote count by a margin of less than 9,000.
[edit] Filmmography
- Kenji's Faith (1994) student thesis
- charlotte sometimes (2002) — director, writer, producer, editor
- My Life Disoriented — director, producer
- TRE (2006) — director, writer
- Americanese (2007) — director, writer, editor
