A magical movie about an aging itinerant puppeteer (performed by real master puppeteer Vit Horejs) and his adventures on the road. He performs Czech and Slovak folktales with the help of his ancient, hand-carved marionettes, some of which are hard-headed characters. On the road, he gets distracted by women he meets and by the existential grievances of his son, who was once also a puppet, until his puppeteer father cursed him with human existence.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A and informal reception with director Onur Tukel, producer Bonnie Sue Stein, and the film's main star Vit Horejs.
Wooden Hearts, 2025. Director/writer/producer: Onur Tukel. Producer. GOH Productions/Bonnie Stein. Cast: Brian Berrebbi, Eva Dorrepaal, Leonita Gashi, Max Casella, Vít Hořejš, Bonnie Sue Stein, Onur Tukel, a host of antique marionettes, plus Theresa Linnihan & Deborah Beshaw as the Telephone and Radio Voices.
Tickets: $10 (plus processing fee) available online through Eventbrite, or at the door. Seats are limited. At-the-door admission is on a first-come first-served.
About
ONUR TUKEL is an American filmmaker, actor, painter, children's book author and illustrator, and a prolific fixture in the New York City independent film community. Born in North Carolina to Turkish parents, Tukel has spent nearly three decades writing, directing, and starring in dark comedies and genre-bending indies that frequently explore cynicism, modern relationships, and social friction. Tukel has directed 19 feature films and shorts, including notable features: Summer of Blood (2014), premiered at Tribeca Film Festival; Catfight (2016), which featured Sandra Oh and Anne Heche; Poundcake (2023); and his newest film, A Company of Thieves (2026).
VIT HOREJS, a native of Prague, escaped from communist Czechoslovakia in 1978 and eventually settled in New York City. In 1990, he founded Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (CAMT), featuring centuries-old Czech marionettes he discovered at Jan Hus Church in Manhattan. He translated, wrote, and directed over two dozen plays for his company. In 1992, he co-producedFaust on a String, an award-winning documentary about Czech puppetry. Vít also played characters in a dozen Hollywood movies, including Krojack, the chief of the Secret Police of Vulgaria, in Woody Allen’s Don’t Drink the Water. His collaboration on Onur Tukel’s 2021 film Scenes from an Empty Church prompted the director to write Wooden Hearts. Vit is a longtime board member of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, New York Chapter.
This event is organized by the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, New York Chapter, in collaboration with GOH Productions, and with the support of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.