Vuk Lungulov-Klotz wanted his film Mutt to show the trans masc love he'd never seen onscreen

Here & Queer is an interview series hosted by Peter Knegt that celebrates and amplifies the work of LGBTQ artists through unfiltered conversations.

Filmmaker Vuk Lungulov-Klotz had never really seen trans masculinity represented onscreen in a way that really connected with him — so he took matters into his own hands with his exceptional feature film debut, Mutt.  

"I think this movie for me was just like a deep, deep hunger to see me and us reflected back," Lungulov-Klotz says. "My biggest fear coming out [as trans] was, 'I'm never going to find a boyfriend'... I think when you don't see trans men falling in love onscreen, you're just really sending a message. So I wanted to provide that space."

After a hugely successful stint on the film festival circuit (which included winning prizes at both the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival — no small feat), audiences across North America will get a chance to experience the space Lungulov-Klotz created when Mutt hits cinemas this August. And we got to share some space with the filmmaker ourselves when he stopped by the Here & Queer set earlier this summer. 

Watch the full episode below:

Set over the course of 24 hours in New York City, Mutt is centred on Feña (Lío Mehiel, who became the first trans actor to win an acting prize at Sundance for the film, which was notably also their screen debut). In the midst of transitioning, Feña is having a very challenging day trying to juggle largely unexpected interactions with their ex-boyfriend (Cole Doman), half-sister (Mimi Ryder) and father (Alejandro Goic). What results is a deeply poignant and moving film that absolutely stands as one of the year's best LGBTQ offerings.

Lungulov-Klotz says he's been asked a lot about the title of the film after screenings at festivals. 

"I realize that it's not obvious why it's called Mutt," he says. "I just wanted to talk about the in-betweenness of everything."

"I myself am half-Chilean, half-Serbian. I grew up in Chile and came to the [United] States, to New York. And just being trans, being from different nationalities and being queer, there's a lot of places where in-betweenness is part of who I am. And I think part of who everybody is, especially when you talk about the national identity of the United States. Everybody is a mutt. It's all stolen land."

The film marks a pretty extraordinary debut for Lungulov-Klotz, who spent over half a decade getting the film off the ground. As far as advice he has for anyone trying to follow in his footsteps?

"There's no one way to do it," he says. "It's always going to be a miracle. So you just have to line up a few miracles in a row for it to happen."

It's also important to truly love the story you are trying to tell. 

"This is a marriage I have had for six to seven years with Mutt. That's my husband, you know? So whatever it is that you're trying to put out there, just make sure that your heart is behind it because you are the single engine pushing it forward."

Mutt is opening in select cinemas across North America on August 18th, including an opening night screening with a live virtual Q&A with Lungulov-Klotz at Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox.