After spending his childhood in Oklahoma making animated and live action short films, Eric McEver relocated to Tokyo after receiving his BFA in Japanese studies from Kenyon College. While working variously as a theater actor, translator, game developer and animation producer, he wrote, produced and directed three independent feature films in Japanese. He went on to receive his MFA from New York University, where he received the Wasserman Award in Directing for his thesis film "Paleonaut," which screened at over 50 film festivals in 9 countries.

McEver's commercial feature debut "Iké Boys," a mixture of live action, tokusatsu effects and anime, premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2021 and also screened at the 2022 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival and other festivals worldwide. It was distributed domestically by Shout! Studios and received a nationwide theatrical release in Japan through Toho Cinemas.

McEver has served as artist in residence at the Museums Quarter in Vienna, Austria and New York University’s Shanghai campus. He also served as adjunct professor of screenwriting, animation and cinema studies at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

He is currently developing multiple narrative film projects in English and Japanese.

Areas of Expertise

Screenwriting and directing; Japanese cinema; animation

Education

2016 — Master of Fine Arts from New York University

2009 — Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kenyon College

Courses Recently Taught

In this course, we consider the collaborative nature of filmmaking and how its various crafts combine to tell stories with perhaps the greatest mass appeal of any artistic medium. We explore dramatic narrative structure, mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing and film genres as they have been used and advanced in the history of cinema. In addition to regular class meetings, attendance at weekly film showings is required. This course includes an introduction to film production in which students are expected to write, direct and film short projects in collaboration with their classmates. This course is ideal for first-year students and is required for the major. No prerequisite. Generally offered once a year.

This course focuses on the understanding of cinema through the practical application of pre-production and post-production techniques. Students learn the art of telling a story on screen by taking on the roles of the major positions in a film production, including producer, director, actor, cinematographer and editor. This course is taught at the Wright Center in Mount Vernon. This counts toward the production course requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111 or FILM 111. Generally offered every year.