#crowdfunding - Mutt
A young woman anxiously expecting her first child turns to her in laws for guidance. But when her dog is stolen amid rumours of dog fighting, she secretly goes against the wishes of the conservative family, to save her pet from a torturous death.
Interview with Writer/Director Samuel Galloway
Congratulations! Tell us about your film.
Set in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Mutt follows Odette Harker as she comes to terms with her first pregnancy. She had a rough upbringing, and she now looks to her conservative in-laws for guidance on parenting. But when a robbery occurs at the family's building company, the couple's dog Barney goes missing as well. Dog fighting is prominent in the area, so Odette secretly goes against the family’s wishes, to infiltrate the dangerous underground world to save her dog from a torturous death.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
In terms of theme I don’t plan too much, I just look for a something that I avoid in real life, something tender that I don’t want anyone to see or know about. Then I dig it up and dissect it. I think specificity and brutal honestly are what people connect with. In this case it’s really a coming of age story, for people who have doubt about where they came from, and who have invested too heavily in the opinions of others.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The animal rights aspect of the film is something that people find easy to get behind, but the fact that we aren’t pulling any punches in our depiction of the dog fighting is challenging for some people. But in order to fully appreciate what’s at stake in this world it’s necessary to show. Creating this without putting the animals in any danger is going to a challenge, but we are leaning towards the “Jaws” method. Less is more.
Who do you need to come on board to amplify this film’s message?
We are still crowdfunding on Pozible, so getting to our goal is our current challenge. But we are planning on taking a cut of the film to the market at Cannes to look for distribution and/or a sales agent.
What type of impact would you like this film to have?
I’m not sure what function films need to serve in the modern, opinionated world. Once I would have said “spark debate” but there’s plenty of that going on already, about everything. It may be the case that giving people something that they can agree upon is a step in the right direction.
The obvious message is “be cool to your dog” but the dog in the film is really a proxy for Odette’s unborn child, and her failures carry that weight. This maternal prism is extended toward all the characters, and in seeing everyone as products of their environment, we will hopefully create a sense of empathy toward characters who are lost, without tolerance toward their bad behaviour. Like a good parent.
What projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Samuel has a slate of five features planned for the near future, starting with Gastro which is being developed with Timpson films.
Interview: February 2017
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Mutt
A young woman anxiously expecting her first child turns to her in laws for guidance. But when her dog is stolen amid rumours of dog fighting, she secretly goes against the wishes of the conservative family, to save her pet from a torturous death.
Length: 90 min
Director: Samuel Galloway
Producer: Erinn Stevenson
Writer: Samuel Galloway
Key cast: David Beamish, Adam Schmerl
We are currently crowdfunding on Pozible
https://pozible.com/project/mutt
Release date: 2018