Synopsis
An up-and-coming video gamer faces his greatest challenge yet as he and his team must overcome a fiery gaming superstar, as well as their own battling egos, to win the ultimate video game championship.
Featuring - Sean Astin
Sean Astin has demonstrated an innate ability to share his heart with the world through such iconic roles as Mikey Walsh in “The Goonies,” the title character of “Rudy,” Samwise Gamgee in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Bob Newby in "Stranger Things 2," roles that epitomize hope, determination and loyalty.
For his first feature film, he portrayed Mikey in Steven Spielberg’s classic “The Goonies” (1985), still enthusiastically beloved by audiences today. The young performer appeared in several more films both for TV and the big screen, garnering Young Artist Awards for performances in “The Goonies,” “Staying Together” (1989) and as the lead character Billy Tepper in “Toy Soldiers” (1991), and the the life-changing struggles and rewards of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger" in "Rudy" (1993).
Sean experienced another career breakthrough with his role as the epitome of loyal sidekicks, Samwise Gamgee, in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, released in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Along with the many awards bestowed upon the trilogy, Sean received nominations for his own performance.
Sean joined the award winning cast in the second season of the engrossing and critically acclaimed Netflix series "Stranger Things" (2017), as the beloved character of Bob Newby, Radio Shack manager.
Director - Joseph Procopio
In 2011, Maclean’s magazine named Joseph Procopio as one of Canada’s “Top 10 under 25”. Joseph started making films at the age of 8 on a Handicam using basic editing software to imitate shots from his favorite movies.
His first film, "Nine Times Eight" (2004), which he directed at the age of 9, screened worldwide after debuting at the 2004 Toronto International Sprockets Film Festival, and premiering in the U.S. at the 2004 Rhode Island Film Festival; winning numerous awards and accolades. Joseph became one of the youngest directors invited to the Palm Springs Shorts Film Festival, which was soon followed by a Canadian Embassy-sponsored screening in Washington D.C. Other festival invitations included his European debut at Raindance UK, CIFEJ Kids festival in Italy, and Little Big Shots in Australia.
He has now delivered 14 films, exposing him to every aspect of filmmaking, with a body of work that encompasses a wide range of human emotions and narratives. Joseph’s films have screened at festivals in Toronto, Rhode Island, Chicago, San Francisco, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Austin, Seattle, Nashville, Newport Beach, San Diego, Phoenix, Washington DC, New Orleans, Victoria, Montreal and overseas in England, Finland, Italy, Cyprus, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand to name a few.
CAST
Greg Hovanessian
Greg Hovanessian
Greg Hovanessian
Greg landed his first professional acting gig on CW’s hit series "Nikita". Following that, he appeared continued on various series and feature films, including "Covert Affairs" (USA Network), "Reign" (The CW Network), "Slasher" (Chiller Films), "Mayday" (Discovery Channel), and "Private Eyes" (Global). Since then, Greg has landed series regular roles on "The Mist" (Spike TV) and "Cardinal" (CTV), and can be seen on Lifetime Television’s hit series "UnREAL".
Chloe Rose
Greg Hovanessian
Greg Hovanessian
Chloe is best known for her breakout role as Katie Matlin on "Degrassi: The Next Generation" (2011). Following Degrassi, Chloe received acclaim for her performance in "Teenagers" (2017). She has also starred in feature films,
including "The Lesser Blessed" (2012), "Bang Bang Baby" (2014), and "Pywacket" (2017) which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and "Hellions" (2015), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Sean Colby
Greg Hovanessian
Victor Verbitsky
Sean is an actor, director and writer. He has appeared in various projects, such as "The Detectives" (CBC), "On the Basis of Sex" (Focus Features), "19-2" (Bravo), and "The Art of More" (Sony Pictures Television). Aside from acting, Sean is a successful filmmaker with short films that have screened internationally. He is currently developing "Cheap Cheap," a TV series follows the day-to-day life of a group of dollar store employees.
Victor Verbitsky
Victor Verbitsky
Victor Verbitsky
Victor is an actor based in Toronto, he is best known for hosting YTV’s "The Zone" and CBC Kids Studio, "K Show". When he is not on set, or working on the show, Victor spends his time producing and writing music. He is currently in the studio finishing his first EP that also includes two original tracks featured in "eHero".
Landon Norris
Victor Verbitsky
Landon Norris
Landon is an actor and visual artist who since the age of five, has voiced main characters in two animated series, starred in numerous commercials,
and several TV series & feature films such as: "World of Quest" (2008), "Freaktown" (2016), "Orphan" (2009), "Rookie Blue" (2011), "Hemlock Grove" (2013), and his most recently filmed role on "Designated Survivor" (2017).
Varun Saranga
Victor Verbitsky
Landon Norris
Varun became interested in acting through filmmaking, directing and
starring in two student films, "Nerdman" and "Small Fry", which premiered at the Toronto Youth Film Festival. Other roles followed in the Cartoon Network's Unnatural History, Showcase's ‘Cra$h and Burn’, CBC's ‘Schitt's Creek", and CityTV's ‘Young Drunk Punk’ alongside Kids in the Hall alum Bruce McCulloch.
DIRECTOR'S VISION
Tyler Conway’s journey through the gaming world of "eHero" is a personal triumph that liberates the burden of a young life. Through goodness and perseverance, Tyler learns that he is indeed capable of great things despite insurmountable odds.
I grew up when emerging technology made it simple to transform thoughts into short film on a personal computer. By age 21, I had completed 14 short films while developing a competitive status in the "Halo" and "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive", so it was natural that my lifelong passion for filmmaking would lead to an eSport film like "eHero" as my directorial debut.
Cinematically, I chose to shoot entirely handheld for an immediate, raw, close-up POV of the gaming experience; locked between the player and his monitor.
Beyond the monitor, is a rich universe of maps, abandoned fuselages and nuclear facilities of a post apocalyptic future where gun-wielding heroes set out to destroy each other.
The scenes in "eHero" are short, quick and tightly edited with Lo-Fi Hip-Hop and Vaporwave floating out through player headsets and desktop speakers.
Visually, the gaming sequences were created using the "Reflex Arena" game engine to intercut with the live-action drama so that the gaming supports the narrative of the film.
For authenticity, I reached out to the top peripheral designers in the industry such as: DELL, Logitech, ASUS and Microsoft and for onscreen interfaces, Twitter, Twitch, and Discord licenses were secured.
An original score was created with composer Luke Richards, whose experience draws from work he contributed to the "Call of Duty" franchise to accentuate key dramatic moments, while acquired music balances a soundscape that diehard gamers will instantly recognize.
I dream for "eHero" to redefine the notion that pro-gamers are anti-social skateboarding losers who listen to heavy metal; but are rather, determined, highly skilled mavericks of the new global eSport movement.