A fairytale of a social critique, Hearts of Stone is a sweet portrayal of isolation and connection in the modern world. Paula (Noomi Rapace) is a street artist who paints and poses herself as a statue and has a successful social media presence. She creates distance from the world to preserve the self she desires to be seen: frozen, beautiful, bronze.
Separated by a phone screen, Paula is taken photos of and validated by passersby and an online audience, but she sees how this technology diminishes the moment’s sincerity—her favorite statue is barely glanced at as parkgoers are absorbed in their phones. Taking it upon herself to appreciate the beauty of her stone counterpart, she falls in love.
As Paula’s love story evolves, we hear the statue’s perspective of an existence suspended in time. The statue is the all-too-perfect, rigid mirror of Paula’s own identity, mired in her own sadness. The metaphor of the statue indicates the creation could be one’s own doing or that of the outside view.
Paula resonates with the statue’s story so deeply she wishes to become like her, to be absorbed with her in form and love, one that never moves.
Hearts of Stone is a pleasant and beautiful watch. It reveals the extremes of renouncing and absorbing oneself in the modern world and emphasizes connection as the path forward.
Hearts of Stone will be screening at the Fall 2025 New Jersey Film Festival on Sunday, September 7 as part of a Shorts Program. The film will be Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 5 PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. Tickets are available for purchase here.
The 44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place between September 5-October 10, 2025. The Festival will be a hybrid as we will be presenting it online as well as doing select in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VoD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. Plus, we are very proud to announce that acclaimed band Cold Weather Company will be doing an audio-visual concert on Friday, October 10 at 7PM. Lastly, we will be offering three FREE Filmmaking Workshops! The in-person screenings and the Cold Weather Company concert will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 1PM, 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$120; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program. The Filmmaking Workshops are FREE and open to the public but have limited seating and require advance registration. To register email us at [email protected]
For more info go here: https://newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2025.eventive.org/welcome
