The feature debut of writer/director Sarah Gyllenstierna, Hunters on a White Field is
adapted from the novel 'Jakt på ett vitt fält' by Mats Wägeus. The film
stars Ardalan Esmaili, Magnus Krepper and Jens Hultén as three men
whose weekend hunting trip takes a surreal turn when all the animals
mysteriously disappear from the woods, but they insist that the hunt must go
on.
"What attracted me to the novel that my script is based on was its twisted
and absurdist take on humans’ capacity for self-destruction,"
says Gyllenstierna. "The context of three men on a hunting trip provided an opportunity to
explore group dynamics and the psychological forces that can come into play
in sealed-off environments, as well as ideas about instinct and fragility
within individuals and within the flock. The men in the film yearn for a
sense of camaraderie and belonging, but the hunt instead leads them down a
rabbit hole of primal instincts and conflicted emotions. I wanted to create a sense of mystery, a world that you can recognize but
not quite comprehend. Three ordinary men let their primal impulses take over
during a hunting weekend. Faced with the mortality of the animals they hunt,
the men find that something untamed within them emerges: the power to kill
gives them an overpowering sensation of being absolutely alive. The social
hierarchies and competition that have motivated them lose their meaning as
the men embrace danger and chaos over the control they previously sought.
Hunters on a White Field is a psychological thriller about
human folly and the animal within us all."
Hunters on a White Field plays at the Tribeca Film Festival
on June 10th.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
The official synopsis reads:
Three men go on an extended weekend hunting trip on a remote wooded property. An initial spell of hunting success sharpens their instincts and stirs a sense of rivalry. Then one day they awake to find that all of the animals have vanished and the forest is eerily quiet. The men become obsessed with the idea that the hunt must continue, no matter how dangerous or absurd the consequences.
