Filmography

Starring

Peter Andrews, Mark Lunde

Synopsis

A Heart So Full tells the story of a father teaching a boy to fish. The boy wakes early in the morning, excited to get the fishing trip under way, and rushes in to wake his father. He quickly dresses and continues to pester his dad while the father tries to brush his teeth and get ready for the day.

When they get to the lake, the boy is distracted by the ducks and doesn't pay attention while his father sets up the fishing rods and strings the lures onto the fishing line. At first, the boy doesn't really understand how to cast, but as his father guides his hands and shows him, he begins to get the hang of it.

The father and son continue to cast together, and the boy improves. As he gets better, his enthusiasm grows, and by the time they leave the lake, they are holding hands and talking excitedly.

Production Notes

I decided to make A Heart So Full in order to capture my feelings for my father as a hero of mine. I feel the story captures an essential element of the first half of any father-son relationship: the transfer of knowledge from the dad to the boy. (Coincidentally, the second half - in which the boy learns things on his own that the father does not know, creating two separate individuals - was beautifully illustrated in an episode of NBC's ER the week before we began shooting.) Since I had been thinking about this story for a while, I had time to schedule and audition actors, and came to the decision that Mark Lunde and Peter Andrews would be perfect for the part of the boy and his father, respectively. Peter enclosed with his head shot a photograph of himself fishing with his father at a young age. This was very influential in my decision.

We completed the interiors at Andy's apartment in the morning and then shot at Los Angeles's Hahn State Park on a very windy Saturday. Andy and Joe both agreed to assist me with the production. (Andy had already helped with the casting process, as he has plenty of experience in that area.) We had to work fast in the wind, but everyone did a great job. Of course, Andy's obsession with feeding the ducks with the craft services Goldfish crackers rubbed off on young Mark which slowed a few things down, but we had plenty of fun and wrapped up on time. Fortunately, both actors were great and really delivered on the tone of the piece.

Of course, these things are complicated: one roll of film (three minutes of raw footage) came back from the lab destroyed, which made it harder to tell the story. I had conceived a certain contrast between the approach to the lake and their departure at the end of the film. When they arrive, the father has to carry everything and has some trouble setting up while the boy is distracted, but as they leave the boy carries his rod and talks excitedly with his dad. The reel I lost communicates the approach to the lake, which meant the contrast was hard to show, but I like the film and I think it communicates my basic intent.

Once the idea for the film was fleshed out, I knew I had to find some way to include a song I love from Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. The song, sung by Jonathan Katz as he realizes his love for his son Ben, goes like this:

A boy, a bike
A heart so full
A mom, and a dad
And little stuffed bull

(this last line is a reference to "Bully," Ben's favorite stuffed animal since he was two). The song perfectly illustrates the feeling I was trying to communciate with the film and thus not only appears in the film but also lends its name to the title.

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