Silent star meets Ludwig

A poetic musical movie

What do Beethoven, Arno Stern and silence have in common? Experience a poetic - musical film where you can get to the bottom of this question. A journey into the past, which weaves an artful bow to the present and even into the future.

Homage to Arno Stern and Ludwig v.Beethoven. Since his time in the labor camp, Arno has had a deep love for L.v.Beethoven and his music.

«I was able to survive the unbearable heaviness of the refugee camp only thanks to Beethoven’s music.» Arno Stern

What is special about our project

Arno Stern’s life’s work has the potential to create new peace in us and also in our world. For through his groundbreaking research, he has unearthed an inherent law of nature like a previously buried treasure. His message is more relevant and urgent today than ever before. With our film project, we want to send it out into the world once again and even more intensively.

Who is Arno Stern? Born in Kassel in 1924, Arno Stern emigrated to France in 1933 with his parents Isidor and Marta Stern. He is the founder of the first painting place, «Le Closlieu» in Paris, with its protective walls and pallet table.

Between 1966 and 1972, Arno Stern expanded his research work in the painting place by traveling to remote areas all over the world. With nearly 700,000 collected documents over the period of more than 70 years, he proves the universality of the so-called FORMULATION, a spontaneous, unintentional expression of inner impulses, of which every human being - under suitable conditions - is capable.

Arno Stern leads with his son André the «Institut Arno Stern - Laboratory for the preservation of the spontaneous disposition of the child», supervises painting groups in his painting place in Paris, trains future painting place servants and that still, with his nearly 98 years!

What moves us to pay tribute to his personality?

Since we first learned about Arno Stern, we have been deeply moved by the Malort and the attitude towards humanity that goes with it. The training with him to become a painting place servant has fundamentally changed our lives and our world.

With his new attitude, Arno Stern places mindfulness and trust at the center of a happy relationship. An attitude of respect and trust in the amazing, spontaneous dispositions that are inherent in every child, in every human being, throughout his or her life. This attitude is not based on any method, ideology, theory or hypothesis, but solely on the child. It is so new that it even makes the criticism of the «old» obsolete. In the many years of collaboration with the Stern family, I, Silvia-Faye, have been able to witness countless touching events, often resembling a miracle. All those who meet Arno Stern are moved in a very deep, indescribable way and as if in a way «shaken awake»- or better : gently «marveled awake». He awakens the memory in all our potential and immortal vitality. His life and work is thus a model for humanity, for humanity, for the dignity of man!

I owe my love for Beethoven, especially for the late string quartets, also to Arno Stern.

A common love of music that connects us, as only music can do. With this music film we would like to honor Arno Stern for his life’s work. We thank him for his BEING and his research, which represents a valuable, even indispensable - and until today not yet recognized in its full scope - work for posterity. And that is why we have gathered people from all over who have already come into contact with Arno Stern in so many projects, such as our filmmaker Ludwig Valenta.

The musical performance in the film is done by the «Stella Quartett», an ensemble founded especially for Arno Stern with world-famous musicians, who already played for h im in a similar formation in 2015 and moved Him to tears.

We chose the picturesque Beethoven memorial in Vienna Heiligenstadt, because Arno Stern loved to visit here. The choice of music for the film was also obvious: one of Arno Stern’s favorite works, Beethoven’s string quartet «The Great Fugue op. 133 in B flat major», is heard, combined with readings of texts by Beethoven and Arno Stern.

The joint gift is graphically rounded off by hand-drawn portraits of Beethoven and Stern, created for the occasion by violinist and painter Luís Morais.

This is what I need backing for.

We need your generous support for:

• the musicians’ fees,
• sound engineering,
• graphic design,
• artists,
• film production,
• filmmakers,
• location