Over summer, Eric Elofson (Class of 2010, Graduate Film) pays it forward for education in Cambodia with the skills from an education at Tisch Asia. Eric collaborated with faculty member, Allan Nicholls on a documentary shot in Cambodia, entitled Promise.
The documentary is about a little Cambodian girl asking a tourist for a dollar for school fees and the promise made by the tourist to help education in Cambodia.
“Working with Allan was surreal because I grew up watching movies he wrote or acted in and suddenly I found myself in some obscure village in Cambodia shooting a documentary with him. The faculty at Tisch Asia aren’t just mentors and professors, they’re also friends and collaborators, which makes the whole program so special.” Remarks Eric.
Eric is currently a production assistant on Machine Gun Preacher and from March 2011, he will be working on the film of second year student at Tisch Asia, Atsuko Hirayanagi and the feature film of fellow alumna Uta Arning (Class of 2010, Graduate Film).
“It was great to see him work because he was able to visualize elements of the project that the rest of us couldn’t see or even fully understand, but when we executed them on the day you could see why they worked. Allan had the instincts to take an unconventional approach to his documentary, and when challenged on it he stuck to his guns and it paid off. Lessons like that can’t be learned from text books or lectures, you have to see the process first hand working with other artists.” Said Eric, sharing what he learnt from this collaboration.
Assistant Director, Producer and Actor, Allan Nicholls, shared his sentiments on working with Eric Elofson, “His knowledge of the craft, attention to detail, unique visual sense and sensitivity to the subject and its participants was most impressive and greatly contributed to the success of the piece. He made a lasting impression with the producers of the project and I believe we all look forward to working with him again in the future.”
