Film Forum

Tender, funny, and poignant, the debut drama MUTT follows Feña, a recently transitioned trans man (trans actor Lío Mehiel in a star-making, Sundance prize-winning performance). Says Leslie Felperin in The Hollywood Reporter: “An eventful New York City day in the life of Feña is depicted with honesty, tenderness and wit. Drawing on his own background as a child of Chilean and Serbian parents and his own experience of transition, Lungulov-Klotz adeptly distills a lot of complex thematic material around gender identity, queer lifestyles and ethnic intersectionality. Mehiel’s performance in particular is so grounding, expressive and compelling to watch… One of the best films about post-transition adjustment.” MUTT combines romance with family drama, centering lived experiences so infrequently represented in the cinema; vivid in its specificity and universal in its humanity.

Presented with support from the R.G. Rifkind Foundation Endowment for Queer Cinema and Robert E. Appel Fund for Spanish and Portuguese Language Films

2023     87 MIN.     USA     STRAND RELEASING
IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Reviews

“OUTSTANDING. MUTT is a sexy, handsome, thoroughly New York film that captures the many messy complexities of being human.”
– Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue

“Writer/director Lungulov-Klotz makes a solid debut with a personal story, shaping the standout moments with an expressive attention to detail and a sensual edge. MUTT signals an exciting evolution for contemporary trans cinema.”
– Jude Dry, IndieWire

“Follows its heart-stealing title character across a single exceedingly eventful and emotionally fraught day… With fluid cinematography, deft narrative pacing and swells of feeling, Lungulov-Klotz creates an urgent, of-the-moment portrait of a young man who’s at once distinct and movingly, rightfully ordinary.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“A warm and open performance from actor Lío Mehiel, coupled with a steady authenticity and emotional truthfulness, makes MUTT an appealing 24-hours-in-New-York drama. We’ve been here before, cinematically, but Feña’s life, and the way it is treated — with humor, emotion, vulnerability and respect — is fresh. Lungulov-Klotz has brought his own experiences to this project, and his truth shines on the screen.”
– Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily

“Compelling… A vision of the city that’s unlike what is usually presented in so many American indies, giving audiences images that are tangible and instantly recognizable. Lungulov-Klotz succeeds in placing vivid characters in slightly heightened situations — amplifying our connection in the process — without sacrificing the sense of realism that makes MUTT so relatable.”
– Murtada Elfadl, Variety