From TOROSIETE Museum Artist Beatrix Ost, comes “Hearts’ Lonely Hunters” – a feature film co produced and co written by Beatrix Ost and her son Daniel Kuttner – directed by Daniel Kuttner.
- Brief Synopsis
- From the Creators
- Key Credits
- About the Production
- Q&A with Beatrix Ost
- Art in the Film
Klaus, a German writer with a thirst for experience and a longing for personal expression arrives in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is sent to the town of Thomas Jefferson on a journalistic assignment to write about the great man and his achievements. However, he quickly becomes disillusioned with his subject yearning for a human connection. A direct confrontation with the racial tensions of a melting pot society enables him to abandon the past and open himself to observing the present. Lured by his own thirst and longing, his position as a stranger allows him to discover peoples' deepest secrets. During his stay, he befriends a diverse group of characters searching to fulfill their true dreams and desires. Among them are: Mooney Sunshine, a dualistic persona with a haunting childhood secret; Dolly, who is looking for "true love", but always in the wrong places; and Luna, a Zen archer who never misses with her arrow, only in life; to name a few. To some, Klaus becomes a friend, to others, he is their guiding figure. But all of them inspire him in his own journey towards "a story dear to his heart."
"Hearts' Lonely Hunters" is about the pursuit of dreams, great and small, good and bad, right and wrong. Dreams are as individual as the people who have them, but they possess us all. Whether you dream of love, understanding, or power. We dream all our lives. Each character in the film represents the pursuit towards an individual dream. We wish and hope for our dreams to come true, and sometimes realize that the power to fulfill our dreams lies right within us. Like life itself, the film does not come to conclusions. It leads us to questions, and questions lead to answers. - Daniel Kuttner
The stranger in this film awakens us from our sleep. He allows us to throw off our disguises and embrace what is true in our hearts. I am thinking of Michelangelo's painting where two fingers are touching and the power of their simple gesture reminds us that what we need most in this fast and complicated world is compassion for others and the courage to change ourselves. Life itself is often beyond imagining and so the film sometimes ventures into the surreal, where dreams are living and where the magical awakening of our senses allows us to see the riches of our souls. - Beatrix Ost
Director:
Daniel Kuttner
Producers:
Daniel Kuttner
Beatrix Ost
Screenplay:
Daniel Kuttner
Beatrix Ost
Director of Photography:
Holly Frank
Executive Producer:
Ludwig Kuttner
Co-Producer:
Merry Dunning
Production Design:
Beatrix Ost
Editor:
Olof Karlstrom
Music:
Alexander Patterson
Sound:
Andy Adams
Costumes:
Beatrix Ost
Make-up:
Dawn Jacobson
Assistant Director:
Jim Hensz
Cast:
Hans-Jörg Assman, John Carden,
Savitri Durkee, Bega Metzner,
Emilie Jo Tisdale, Dawn Jacobson,
Steve Tharp, Fabian Kuttner
Production:
KO Films
Original Format:
106 min, 10,130 feet
35 mm color, 1:1,85
Dolby Stereo
Streaming Presented by The TOROSIETE Museum of Contemporary Art
"HEARTS' LONELY HUNTERS" is Daniel Kuttner's first feature film as a director. He and his mother, Beatrix Ost begain their collaboration with Daniel returned from Los Angeles after a break up with his girlfriend. Beatrix wanted to make a short film about her sculptures and Daniel had been trying to write a screenplay which he felt proud enough to represent himself with and was possible to do with the means available to him. Their view of Charlottesville as an artistic and intellectual small town with eccentric and quirky characters were written with the actors already in mind after having seen them in local theatre productions. Others were friends from New York and Germany who came to join the effort. Locations were conceptualized according to places that were accessible through friends. As the crew grew, neighbors helped by providing their guest houses. Beatrix's farm, Estouteville, burst at the seams with people sleeping in every nook and cranny. Finally, shooting began for the scheduled five weeks. An amazing mix of professional and non-professional people working together from the heart with love and appreciation for the creative process were the result of an incredibly smooth and wonderful production. Daniel went back to Los Angeles for five months of post-production. The music, he entrusted to a twenty-one year old student from England who had nevered composed for a film before. "Hearts' Lonely Hunters" is the collaborative effort of a group of people who are not afraid to pursue their dreams.
Our Q&A with Beatrix Ost will be posted soon! Thank you to everyone that attended!
The TOROSIETE Museum will be presenting a series of exhibitions of the sculptural art featured in the film created by Beatrix Ost beginning in April, 2021.
(Shown: "HearSeeScream", 1994)
