Interview: ‘Hundreds of Beavers’ Producer Kurt Ravenwood and DP Quinn Hester Talk About the Creation of a Slapstick Sensation

It’s not often that you see a film that immediately feels destined to become a cult classic. But that’s the unavoidable sensation one gets when watching Hundreds of Beavers, an independent pseudo-silent action-comedy overflowing with inventive gags and referencing everything from Buster Keaton to Chuck Jones to The Legend of Zelda. As I said in my glowing review of the film:“In lesser filmmaker’s hands, this smorgasbord of implied and perceived references would threaten to drown any potential engagement with the narrative. But like Quentin Tarantino before them, Cheslik and Tews weave their wildly disparate touchpoints into a cohesive style that feels distinctly their own. It helps that they’ve structured their cavalcade of buffoonery around a deceptively simple scenario that gradually builds and expands upon itself with impossibly Rube Goldbergian precision. Jokes that are decidedly low-brow on the surface have a way of recurring and reinventing themselves, with dozens and dozens of setups that evolve into increasingly elaborate payoffs. Each gag is permitted time to breathe without ever overstaying its welcome.”

The film’s producer, Kurt Ravenwood, and DP Quinn Hester spoke with Awards Radar’s Myles Hughes about the long road to get the film made. From tackling freezing conditions over the course of a four-year shoot, to navigating the modern indie distribution landscape and turning the film into a roadshow event, the two offer plenty of insight into their collaboration with director Mike Cheslik and star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews that eventually turned this madcap vision into a reality.

Hundreds of Beavers is now available to rent or purchase on AppleTV and Prime Video, and is an SVOD exclusive on Fandor. Don’t miss it.