Back to selection
“It’s Been a Mad Dash to the Finish Line” | Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, Mutt
Lío Mehiel in Mutt. Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film?
“Miracles in real time.” I don’t know when in the production process we started saying that, but it’s kind of been our motto ever since. The biggest unforeseen obstacle for us was our lack of time. Mutt is having its world premiere only four months after wrapping principal photography. My editor and I had two weeks to put together a rough cut to present to Sundance. We were over the moon when we found out we had gotten in. But we also understood the immense challenge ahead of us to finish the film in time. Everything became very intuitive from that point on. We had less than three months to cut, only a month for sound design, a week and a half to score, had to do ADR in three different countries and barely had any time for color correction. And all of this while navigating the end of year frenzy. It’s been a mad dash to the finish line. I’m amazed we’ve made it at all. I think it’s a true testament to the skill set of my cast and crew, the integrity of the story, and my clarity of vision. We all understood that our job was to let go of our egos and truly listen to the story and its needs. Bottom line was to make audience members connect with our lead, Feña, and provide them with a meaningful and emotional journey. We exceeded my expectations, regardless of all the challenges. I’m really proud of this film.
