Private Project

Belonging: SEASON ONE

Belonging is an award-winning journey into the emotional lives of MetaHumans.

Actor, writer and producer, Eric Bear, combined a love of storytelling with a background in tech to create and executive produce Belonging. Isolated during quarantine and searching for creative collaboration, Bear assembled a team of animators and filmmakers from around the world to explore what might be possible using remote performance capture. They set out to answer the question: Can virtual people effectively convey authentic emotions to audiences? The result is an innovative 10-episode drama series that sits at the intersection of live action and animation. Bear portrays a different character in each of the episodes.

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

Produced under a SAG•AFTRA interim project agreement.
Copyright © MMXXII HyperWatt Productions II, LLC. All rights reserved.

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NOTE: SPECIFIC EPISODES HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED TO TARGETED FESTIVALS. Genres span from Action and Adventure to Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance and Sci-Fi.

Access individual episodes for more details:

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

  • Eric Bear
    Producer
    The HyperWatt Conspiracy
  • Nikki Levy
    Producer
    OMG!, Don't Tell My Mother
  • Rebecca Miller
    Producer
  • Eric Bear
    Writer
    The HyperWatt Conspiracy
  • Eric Bear
    Key Cast
    Annie Hall, Yellowstone:1883
  • Carly Christopher
    Key Cast
    The Price of Fame, Murder Made Me Famous
  • Janna Bear
    Key Cast
  • Eric Bear
    Director
    The HyperWatt Conspiracy
  • Jacqueline Cooper
    Director
    Iron Man 3, Jurassic World, TRON: Legacy, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
  • Lance Mungia
    Director
    Six String Samurai, The Phenomenon
  • Luke Hill
    Director
    Ghostfinders, Mirror Valley
  • Nick Jushchyshyn
    Director
    Last Airbender, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  • Romeo615videos
    Director
    Shade 45: Eminem's Hip Hop Channel
  • Solomon Jagwe
    Director
    The Adventures of Nkoza and Nankya
  • Webb Pickersgill
    Director
    Life is Strange
  • Cory Williams
    Director
    The Mean Kitty Song, Coolest Sound Ever
  • Cristina Mercado
    Director
    Third Eye Spies, We Are Not Alone
  • Frederico Junqueira
    Director
    Alien Planet
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short, Television, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Action / Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance / Sci-Fi
  • Runtime:
    48 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 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
  • Toronto International Women Film Festival 2022
    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada
    Winner - Best Animation ("NIGHT")
  • Paris Women Film Festival 2022
    Paris
    France
    Winner - Best Animation (“DUCK”)
  • London-Worldwide Comedy Short Film Festival 2022
    London
    United Kingdom
    Honourable Mention ("ROSALINE")
  • Detroit Black Film Festival 2022
    Detroit, Michigan
    United States
    Official Selection ("PARTNERS")
  • Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival 2022
    Providence, Rhode Island
    United States
    Official Selection ("HERE")
  • LA Femme International Film Festival 2022
    Beverly Hills, California
    United States
    Award Nominee ("DUCK")
  • Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2022
    Fort Lauderdale, Florida
    United States
    Official Selection (full series)
  • Montreal International Animation Film Festival - ANIMAZE 2022
    Montreal, Quebec
    Canada
    Official Selection (6 episodes)
  • The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction & Supernatural Festival 2022
    New York, New York
    United States
    Official Selection ("NIGHT")
  • Cannes International Shorts 2023
    Cannes
    France
    Winner ~ Best Actor
  • Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival (MiSciFi) 2023
    Miami, Florida
    United States
    Official Selection ("NIGHT" & "FAREWELL")
  • Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology 2023
    Portland, Oregon
    United States
    2x Award Winner ("FAREWELL") & Official Selection ("ROSALINE")
  • Cinequest Film & VR Festival 2023
    San Jose, California
    United States
    Official Selection ("ROSALINE" & "FAREWELLL")
Director Biography - Eric Bear, Jacqueline Cooper, Lance Mungia, Luke Hill, Nick Jushchyshyn, Romeo615videos, Solomon Jagwe, Webb Pickersgill, Cory Williams, Cristina Mercado, Frederico Junqueira

Eric Bear [EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & SERIES LEAD] is an actor, writer and producer who most recently played a recurring role in Taylor Sheridan’s acclaimed Yellowstone prequel 1883 on Paramount+. Bear began as a child actor, with a memorable line in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall.

In addition to filmmaking, Bear is a tech entrepreneur known for creating award-winning interactive media and has been hailed as “one of the most thoughtful and provocative interface and interaction designers working in the field.” Bear’s patents have been licensed by all major movie studios in the USA, and products based on other of his 100+ inventions are used every day by millions of people.

Born in New York City, Bear grew up performing in theater and dance. This early training in embodied movement established a foundation as a kinesthetic artist, tapping emotion and relational awareness to inform performances and ways of being in the world.

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

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Stand-alone episode screeners and details are also available.