About the Filmmakers & Directors’ Statement

Jerry Hartleben

Jerry has more than 30 years experience as a professional Director of Photography of documentaries, television commercials, television series and feature motion pictures in Hollywood and around the world. He began his career in the film industry at the age of four as an actor at MGM. During his ten-year acting career, he worked with such renowned directors as Cecil B. DeMille, Arthur Penn and Alfred Hitchcock. It was during this time that he became interested in film and photography. While acting in “The Buccaneer” with Yul Brenner (also a master photographer), Yul took an interest in Jerry and along with the camera department at Paramount Studios, personally tutored him in the art of photography.  This was the beginning of Jerry’s interest in a “behind the camera” career.
He went on to graduate from the U.S.C. School of Cinema and began his career as a Producer/Director/Cinematographer of television documentaries for the U.S. Navy and later, the NBC affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona.  All of this work was shot and edited on film.

As his career evolved, he moved to Hollywood and served as the Director/Cinematographer for numerous television commercials. In addition, he was the Director of Photography for more than 1000 national and international large budget commercials for such clients as Apple Computer, Ford Motor Company, Coca Cola, Budweiser, Levi’s, American Express, Mercedes, General Motors and United Airlines; working with such talent as Ridley Scott, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jerry Seinfeld (American Express commercial series). In addition to his commercial work, Jerry was Director of Photography for television films, Movies of the Week, television series and feature films. Among them were the ABC series “thirtysomething” and the feature motion picture “Wilder Napalm”, starring Debra Winger and Dennis Quaid.

Shaeri Richards

Shaeri often says, “If my life were a painting, I would have to describe it as mixed media.” Her background is varied and her education non-traditional, yet over the years she has developed many talents and skills that come together to make her the person she is today. She is a creative soul who expresses herself in many ways, as a filmmaker, author, speaker, hypnotherapist, musician, actress, improv artist and the list goes on.
Shaeri developed an ear for story telling and getting quickly getting to the heart of a story during her 20 years as a radio and television journalist. Over the years she wrote, directed and produced a PBS documentary that aired nationally; wrote, edited and narrated several award winning radio documentaries; wrote, directed and edited an award winning short film; and authored an award-winning spiritual self help book called,“Dancing with your Dragon: The Art of Loving your Unlovable Self.”  She continues to support people on their spiritual journeys with her work as a coach and certified hypnotherapist.
Music is another love of Shaeri’s. She’s an accomplished trap set drummer and spent 10 years playing drums for Northern Arizona’s highly popular Sammy Davis Band, opening for such acts as, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Chubby Checker, Sha Na Na, and Mary Wilson and the Supremes. She’s also a singer/songwriter and wrote, produced and narrated an award winning musical audio book for children. Her musical skills and her strong sense of timing continue to serve her well in the editing room.
Shaeri also enjoys performing. Over the years she has acted in more than 30 plays, and several independent movies. These days she satisfies her acting urge through improvisational theatre. She’s been performing regularly as an improv artist since 2004 and is currently assistant director of the popular  Zenprov Comedy Troupe in Sedona, AZ.  She also teaches improv on a regular basis and finds it both exhilarating and healing.
Most recently Shaeri served as the co-writer/producer/director of “Moving from Emptiness: The Life and Art of a Zen Dude,” along with her husband Jerry Hartleben.

Directors’ Statement

Our film “Moving from Emptiness: The Life and Art of a Zen Dude” came into being much in the same way as its subject (Zen painter Alok Hsu Kwang-han) manifests his art. The energy to produce it came rushing in, and we simply rode the wave until the film was complete.
As a husband and wife producing team, we were both looking for a first film project together. We spent our earlier years in the film, television and radio industries pursuing our separate careers, but after a ten year hiatus from production, we were both ready to discover a project where we could join our talents and create something as a team.
In the spring of 2013, Shaeri took a painting workshop at the Sedona Arts Center called “The Creativity of Non-doing” taught by Alok. She found the class inspiring, and her enthusiasm convinced Jerry that this was a good subject for a short film. Having just invested in new digital cinema equipment, we were ready to try it out on a little project. Little did we know that this “little project” would change our lives.
We approached Alok and his partner Raylene about a film idea and they were enthusiastically supportive, so the work began. The making of “Moving from Emptiness,” was a multi-dimensional experience for all of us. Two couples, each undergoing an inner and an outer journey. Each deeply involved in a creative process that was highly individual and yet required deep cooperation and trust to bring forth. Alok and Raylene were incredibly forthcoming with us, sharing their deepest thoughts and most intimate experiences. They shared their beauty and their challenges. They allowed us to watch as they surrendered all to the moment, opening to allow the energy to come forth as an expression of their life and their art.
Having captured thirty hours of material, we faced our own personal challenges. Two strong-willed individuals, each with their own vision and skills began the process of learning to ride one horse together without either rider being totally in charge. We both learned the art of surrender, giving up our strong held individual vision and instead focused on the needs of the project itself. Our movie is so much better because of this, resulting in a beautiful blend of male and female, right brain and left brain, intuition and logic.
The making of this film became an expression of Zen itself, exactly like the paintings it portrays, capturing moments of aliveness as they happen and weaving them into an artistic expression that becomes it’s own experience. We were witnesses to the process of art becoming life and life becoming art. We watched Alok and Raylene stand fully present in themselves, and through their openness, hold space for others to dive courageously into the deeper layers of their own beings. We watched our feature length film, which started as a small project, grow with a life force of its own, embodying the way of Zen and becoming a teacher, not only for the audience, but for the filmmakers themselves.