Sundance breakout queer coming-of-age film “Mutt” is finally unleashed stateside. Writer-director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s debut film stars Lío Mehiel as a young trans man named Feña, and the film won Mehiel a Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Strand releases the film in the U.S. this summer, beginning at New York’s Film Forum, and IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer premiere below.
“Mutt” follows Feña across his romances, friendships, and family over the course of one hectic day in New York City, where three people from Feña’s past are thrust back into his life. Having lost touch since transitioning from female to male, he navigates the new dynamics of old relationships while tackling the day-to-day challenges of living life in between. Cole Doman, MiMi Ryder, and Alejandro Goic also star.
“Mutt” details Lungulov-Klotz’s own personal experience growing up in New York City as the child of Chilean and Serbian parents and his transition. Director Lungulov-Klotz previously participated in the Sundance Institute Labs, as well as the Tribeca Film Institute, and the Ryan Murphy HALF Initiative Program.
The film premiered at 2023 Sundance, screened at Berlinale and New Director/New Films, and will be part of the inaugural Hudson Film Festival lineup.
Actor Mehiel made history at Sundance for being the first trans actor to win the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting. The IndieWire review, written by Jude Dry, called the film an “exciting evolution for contemporary trans cinema” with a “self-assured” lead character played brilliantly by Mehiel in a “charismatic” star-making turn.
“‘Mutt’ keeps a tight focus on its dynamic protagonist, who graciously rolls with the punches of being broke and heartbroken in the city that never sleeps,” Dry wrote. “The title ‘Mutt’ suggests something in between, caught between worlds and languages, genders, and sexualities. But Feña doesn’t seem caught at all; he seems quite self-assured. It’s the conditions of his life that are causing him stress. That is as illuminating a message as any.”
“Mutt” is produced by Alexander Stegmaier, Stephen Scott Scarpulla, writer-director Lungulov-Klotz, Jennifer Kuczaj, and Joel Michaely.
“Mutt” premieres August 18 at Film Forum in New York City with more dates to follow. Check out the trailer below.
