Strand Releasing debuted the official trailer for Mutt, an indie drama film starring Lío Mehiel as Feña, a trans man in New York City, who in one day, rekindles old relationships after having lost touch since his gender transitioning, with his father, his straight ex-boyfriend and his estranged sister.
Also starring in the film are Cole Doman, MiMi Ryder, Alejandro Goic, Sarah Herrman, Jasai Chase Owens, and Jari Jones.
Release Date
Directed by Vuk Lunglov-Koltz, making his feature directorial debut, Mutt premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it won a Special Jury Award: Acting for Lio Mehiel; and opens in theaters on August 18, 2023.
Synopsis
Feña (Lio Mehiel), a young trans guy bustling through life in New York, is afflicted with an incessantly challenging day that resurrects ghosts from his past. Laundromats, subway turnstiles, airport transfers are the hectic background to this emotional drama from Sundance that overlaps past, present, and future. Settling the disharmony of transitional upheaval in relationships familial, romantic, platonic is Feña’s task at hand, and his resulting juggling act is equal parts skillful, fumbling, and honest. In negotiating his obliqueness, the poignant moments he finds between himself and others – as the distance between them closes – are warm, true, and touching.
Reviews
In their review, Deadline wrote, “As a primer, Mutt works beautifully for those trying to get their heads around the ever-evolving concept of gender fluidity, and it’s certainly brave of the non-binary Mehiel to tackle that subject in such a head-on, soul-baring way. The big question, though, is where Mehiel will go next, and how cinema will adapt to find work for a fearless talent that doesn’t fit too easily into boxes.”
Giving the film a film a perfect 5 star review, The Queer Review wrote, “Despite the film’s fairly leisurely pace, it is continually fueled by a propulsive energy with a close to realtime intensity, as the action unfolds over around 24 hours. It’s a timeframe that gives us an intriguing insight into the life of this compelling, nuanced character. Towards the end, Feña translates a track about heartbreak that him and John are listening to, and Mutt itself has that moving, ultimately hopeful, bittersweet ache of a good breakup song, and it’s one I know I’ll be returning to.”
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for Mutt.