SHORT | 30:00

In the heart of a bustling metropolis, Paula, a lonely street artist, entertains people as a living statue. She longs with an impossible love for Agatha, a stone sculpture next to which she can be found every day. One day, when reaching her familiar spot, she finds her stone companion replaced by an abstract, modern sculpture. After a frantic search, she discovers Agatha cast aside amidst a group of discarded, classical statues who have lost their place in the modernising sculpture park. As the sun sets, Paula finds herself trying to wake the lonely statue from her stone slumber.

Director Biography - Tom Van Avermaet

Tom Van Avermaet is a Belgian filmmaker known for his unique blend of surrealism and melancholia. His acclaimed short films, Dreamtime and Death of a Shadow (starring Matthias Schoenaerts), have garnered significant recognition both nationally and internationally. Death of a Shadow won the European Academy Award (European Film Award) for Best European Short and was nominated for an Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Live Action Short. Tom's highly anticipated new short film, Hearts of Stone, featuring Noomi Rapace and Jessica Barden, had it’s national premiere at the Oostend Film Festival and it’s international debut this summer at the LA Shorts International Film Festival and the Rhode Island International Film Festival, where it won respectively ‘Best International’ and the ‘Grand Prize for Best Live Action Short’, both Oscar Qualifying Prizes, the film continues it's festival run at festivals around the world. In addition to his filmmaking, Tom is active as a commercial director, art curator, and all-round professional dreamer.