Hello,
I am really proud to invite you to watch, online for the first time,
one of the hardest projects/things i had experienced in my life when
i was 22 years old, my short MUTE. Winner of the Germand
Independence award at Oldenberg International film festival. This was
an intense labor of love, not just for me but for all the crew involved.
ID LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS
please watch the film, and help spread it around, this is a film about
social conscious, brutality, and voices that are not heared by us in
our societies.
WATCH THE FILM!!:
http://vimeo.com/26599647
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT-
Mute is a film that speaks of perception, fear, retribution, our inner
conscience and truth, a film that follows three characters that are
“mute” in their individual ways. They are afraid to speak of their
inner thoughts and desires, living each day of their lives as they come.
One of the original inspirations for the film came in 2007, when
director Hassan Said read a story of a mother that decided to drown
five of her children in a bathtub. The event left a resonance that did
not escape Said’s mind, and he felt that there is a story to be told
about a parent’s love.
“What can drive a father or a mother so far as to kill his or her own
flesh and blood? Is it radical or logical? I started seeing an old
lower middle class father, who lost everything in his life but his
daughter, the only last thing that puts a smile on his face. If he
were to ever loose her, he would definitely loose himself “
Autism was another subject matter Said wanted to tackle in a film, and
he felt that MUTE was the perfect place for it. Said began his
research by meeting with men and women who live with autism. As the
script was written, Said only saw the color yellow bleeding throughout
the film. Reflecting a metaphor for madness, a world being an insane
asylum and how all the characters are trapped within that visual color.
”To me, autism is not an illness in any way, but a super mental energy
that tends to be viewed as a naïve characteristic. The characters to
me are all autistic in their own way… a father, bitter, jobless, who
has a sour taste of life in his mouth and has nothing left in the
world but his daughter; a photographer, who is fairly handsome and
successful but has no understanding of himself along with a sexual
frustration that juxtaposes his outside persona; and finally, Ana, a
talented, gentle, hopeful, innocent angel, who has more heart than any
of the characters and a creativity that makes her want to continue
living in our current chaotic world.”
As rehearsals began, the actors forced themselves to dig deep inside
their souls to touch the core of these characters. Especially for
Vanessa (Ana), it was quite a challenge to absorb being autistic,
i.e., learning the physical mannerisms. On top of that, she has to
absorb the abuse of the only two men she knows in her life.
By the time principal photography came, every single person on the set
could feel the emotional impact of these scenes as they unfold. It is
infront of everybody and no longer on paper alone. The actors would be
in tears between takes consuming their intensity to release in the
characters they became.
“The unsettling cinematography, the non linear editing, and the
emotionally driven performances all played off to me as a beautiful
harmonic symphony. A film that is powerful from its story to its final
sound mix. Everything worked together really well and concluded a
story that I will never forget.”
In the end, Said’s main goal was to tell a story that would not shy
from brutal imagery, not try to limit itself with predictable
character resolutions, not follow a typical film-act structure, and
psychologically push the characters to limitless extents.
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES:
WINNER of the Jury Award for Best Editing at the Big Easy Film Festival.
WINNER of the German Independence Award for Best foreign language
short film at the Oldenburgh International Film Festival
WINNER of the Award of Merit for Short film and Direction - The
Accolade Film Awards
Official Selection - Queens Film Festival
Official Selection - Independents' film festival
Official Selection - Jersey Shore Film Festival
Official Selection - ReelHeart International Film Festival
Official Selection - San Antonio Film Festival
Official Selection - Indie Fest USA
Official Selection - Atlanta Underground Film Festival.
for more info, please visit : mutethemovie.com
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Received on Tue Jul 19 2011 - 16:44:00 CDT
