February 17, 2023
After premiering at Sundance and winning the Best Actor award of the US Drama competition for Lio Mehel, Mutt continues its international journey to join Generation 14plus in the new edition of the Berlin Film Festival. A competition program that showcases avant-garde international cinema and that augurs a promising career for Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, the Chilean-Serbian filmmaker.
Produced in the United States, the feature-length fiction tells the life of Feña, a Chilean-American trans boy, who is interrupted by his past as he prepares to pick up his Dad at the airport. A story set in New York, which follows the protagonist for 24 hours and seeks to engage in a conversation about LGBTQ+ communities and the challenges of fitting into society.
Since the premiere at Berlinale is coming up we wanted to chat with Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, and here we tell you all about it, from the start and its creative process
 | “Given the transgender theme of the film, I am proud that we are premiering and competing from the start in festivals that are considered the most important internationally” . |
Premiering at Sundance was a unique opportunity which helped Mutt get a good start in festivals and hopefully get a good distribution.
I’m super proud. I love that Berlinale has programmed me into a teen-focused section. That someone can watch this movie at an early age is a dream for me.
I obviously made it for all audiences, but I think this movie can super-positively impact someone young who is finding him/herself, especially if he/she’s never seen a story about a transgender man in the movies before. It’s hard to be young and not have examples to follow. I didn’t have characters to look up to that were similar to me in my teens. I’m proud to provide that to someone.
Being a Chilean-Serbian trans, the theme of the film was born from a personal need to create something where me and my trans community could see ourselves reflected in society. I wanted to shape a portrait of a trans boy who has to navigate past relationships while dealing with many versions of being a mutt: from gender, nationality, sexuality, etc.
I’ve been working and living for seven years in New York, where I had a lot of resources that made filming here a little easier. I know the city very much and it became obvious to me to set up this story there. In New York people can be whoever they want to be. Even though we’re all very different, people don’t judge you, especially if you’re transgender.
In the US all independent films get financed from private funds. We worked outside a studio, so we had total control of all decisions.
I took a pretty long road. I came to New York to study cinema and stayed working in lighting for 7 years before filming my feature film. That gave me access and understanding of the people and the production pipeline they have here, which was key for me.
Each film that succeeds is composed of a series of miracles. The most relevant thing is to connect with people who have done it before and never stop talking about your ideas, and also not be ashamed to ask if someone can help you. One never knows. The world is smaller than I thought it was. I always end up talking about editors, writers and directors from Chile with people in New York.
I’m enjoying finishing this feature film. It took me five years to get here. At present I have two feature films that I want to bring out and I’m already talking to people about them. But who knows, I would love to direct a script by someone else and I hope soon to go and film in Chile.