Private Project

Belonging: FICTION

Belonging is a series of journeys into the emotional lives of MetaHumans.

This episode is an intimately reimagined excerpt from Tennessee Williams’ “Lady of Larkspur Lotion” (1939). Set in New Orleans, a struggling writer reacts to being condemned for his failures.

Directed, animated and edited by award-winning Ugandan film director, Solomon Jagwe. Starring Eric Bear and Solomon Jagwe. Produced under the SAG•AFTRA micro-budget project agreement.

BACKGROUND: Isolated during quarantine, tech entrepreneur and actor, Eric Bear, craved connection and creative collaboration. He assembled a team of animators and filmmakers from around the world to explore what might be possible using performance capture and Epic Games’ MetaHumans for Unreal Engine. They embarked on a fully-remote experiment aimed at answering the following questions: Can virtual people effectively express authentic emotions? Can audiences be touched, moved and inspired by performances captured using free software and off-the-shelf hardware? Can multiple artists direct, shoot and produce high-quality episodes from their home studios during a global pandemic?

10 episodes. 10 directors. 25 MetaHumans. 3 live actors. 3 voice actors. 1 engine. Lots of love.

  • Solomon Jagwe
    Director
    The Adventures of Nkoza and Nankya
  • Tennessee Williams
    Writer
    The Lady of Larkspur Lotion
  • Eric Bear
    Producer
    The HyperWatt Conspiracy
  • Nikki Levy
    Producer
    OMG!, Don't Tell My Mother
  • Rebecca Miller
    Producer
  • Eric Bear
    Key Cast
    "Tom"
    Annie Hall, Yellowstone:1883
  • Solomon Jagwe
    Key Cast
    "Mrs. Wire"
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short, Television, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 24, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Motion Capture via Unreal Engine
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival 2022
    Providence, Rhode Island
    United States
    Semi-Finalist
  • Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2022
    Fort Lauderdale
    United States
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Solomon Jagwe

Solomon Jagwe is an award-winning film director from East Africa, Uganda. Co-Founder of Sowl Studios, Solomon is the creator and director of the award-winning African children's animated Series, The Adventures of Nkoza and Nankya. With over 20 years of experience as a video game content creator, cinematic animator, storyboard artist and film maker, he is also an author, 3D artist, concept artist, illustrator and animator, and loves creating with a storytelling perspective. Solomon has directed 2 award-winning films made with Unreal Engine and has worked as an art director and creative for several VR gaming studios. Solomon is passionate about creating art that makes a difference in people's lives and strives to make the world a better place to live in.

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Director Statement

Eric Bear [EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & SERIES LEAD] is a classically-trained film actor known for a meme-generating role in “Annie Hall” and recurring on the Yellowstone prequel “1883” on Paramount+.

As a kinesthetic artist, Bear specializes in primate motion capture and authentic, grounded expression. Prior to returning to filmmaking, Bear was a tech entrepreneur known for creating award-winning interactive media (e.g., Best Animation at SXSW Interactive 1999).

Bear’s invention of seamless video expansion in 1994 was popularized by "The Matrix” – enabling DVD viewers to “follow the white rabbit” to access behind the scenes footage. This technology has been licensed to all major motion picture studios in the USA and top consumer electronics companies in the world. Bear’s 100+ hardware and software patents also include body-based solutions to motion sickness in virtual reality. Products based on Bear’s inventions are in use every day by millions of people and thousands of companies.

Bear is a partner at Capital Factory Ventures and the founder of HyperWatt® Productions.

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Additional episode screeners and details are also available.

https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-night
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-water
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-here
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-duck
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-partners
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-trust
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-rosaline
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-fiction
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-fire
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-farewell