Eric Kolelas

Background

Born in France, to a bilingual family, Kolelas moved to Dunstable, United Kingdom at an early age. He attended Manshead School. In 2005, he attended Thames Valley University where he read video production and later won a scholarship to study at the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan.

Acting

After graduating from the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, Kolelas went on to feature in commercials such as Guitar Hero and KFC, in addition to small appearances in EastEnders and Genie in the House. Kolelas also performed additional dialogue replacement in the 2010 thriller film Shank from Revolver Entertainment.

Alongside Isaura Barbé-Brown and Diana Yekinni, Kolelas was also seen as one of the leads in Mosa by Venezuelan director Ana Moreno. It premiered at the BFI London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in April 2010, as well as winning Best UK Short at the Iris Prize in Cardiff.

Most recently he was seen in Film Four's World Cinema Season Ident, narrating part of the advertisement with a French accent. In summer 2010, he went on to be cast as 'Duncan' in the horror film Sparrow opposite Sarah Linda, Faye Sewell and Jack W. Carter, before writing his own scripts for films such as Fifty Pence and Not Far From The Tree.

Directing

In 2009, Kolelas co-directed the short film The Inebriated Forest with Michael Webber, which took second place at the 'One Too Many' student film competition, which was founded in association with both the NHS and the police forces of surrounding areas to highlight the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption.

In 2012, he wrote, produced and directed the short film Fifty Pence, in which he also plays lead role. The film premiered at the 9th Edition of the London Short Film Festival.