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Copyright © 2008 CIRCE Films, Glen Art Productions and Screen Australia

Mutt

Synopsis
This is a tale about a loyal, hard working dog called Mutt and his owner Mac - a disgruntled Farmer who barely manages to eke out a living from selling the milk of his one dairy cow, Matilda. Our three characters are unwittingly dependent on each other for survival, but each has their own all-consuming obsessions...Mutt’s all-consuming obsession is to chase his rubber ball; the only trouble being nobody wants to throw it for him. Mac is too busy obsessing over the minuscule amounts of money that the sale of the milk brings in. Matilda on the other hand, only wants to eat the lush green grass. Life on the farm is tough, and the cow’s milk is what Mac and Mutt’s existence hinges upon, but when the milk supply suddenly dries up things goes from bad to worse. Mutt decides that since Mac will never ‘play ball’ with him he might try Matilda the cow instead. This leads to disaster, Matilda is out of action, the ball is gone and Mac is denied his milk. Has Mutt's obsession driven the characters to the very edge of their own destruction? Or will his passion for play win through in the end?
Filmmaker Notes

The film encapsulates the harsh, dry Australian rural landscape with decrepit old farm equipment lying useless and rusted surrounded by old parched trees. The farm building is weathered and precarious – much like our farmer Mac. The skies contain constantly moving clouds and reflect the hot midday sun and stormy sunsets. Other than the tiny fertile patch of grass at the top of the hill, the ground is dry and baron as evidenced by the constant plumes of dust raised by Mutt as he runs and skids. All shot in 16:9 HD to fully appreciate the wide expanse of the environments. A considerable amount of contrast was introduced to the lighting and slightly reduced in post-production for cinematic interpretation.

Related News

1 June 2009

Mutt has received a new award at St Kilda Short Film Festival. More...

15 May 2009

Mutt has received a new award at San Francisco International Film Festival. More...

Awards
Best Animation

55th Sydney Film Festival, 2008

Award for Creative Excellence in a Short Film

57th Melbourne International Film Festival, 2008

NOMINATION
Best Animation

26th ATOM Awards, 2008

NOMINATION
Best Animation

IF Awards, 2008

NOMINATION
Best Short Animation

Australian Film Institute Awards, 2008

Best Short Animated Film - Professional

FICCI BAF Awards, 2009

Best CGI Animation

7th Garden State Film Festival, 2009

Award for Works for Kids and Families

52nd San Francisco International Film Festival, 2009

Best Animation

26th St Kilda Short Film Festival, 2009

Previous Screenings
2008

27th Istanbul International Film Festival

5 Apr – 20 Apr | Istanbul, Turkey

48th Film Festival Zlín: Mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež

Film Festival Zlín: International Film Festival for Children and Youth

1 Jun – 8 Jun | Zlin, Czech Republic

55th Sydney Film Festival

4 Jun – 22 Jun | Sydney, Australia

24th Internationales Kurz Film Festival Hamburg

Hamburg International Short Film Festival

4 Jun – 9 Jun | Hamburg, Germany

32nd Festival International du Film d'Animation d'Annecy

Annecy International Animation Film Festival

9 Jun – 14 Jun | Annecy, France

10th Revelation Perth International Film Festival

10 Jul – 20 Jul | Perth, Australia

16th Anima Mundi

11 Jul – 27 Jul | Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil

57th Melbourne International Film Festival

25 Jul – 10 Aug | Melbourne, Australia

7th Nicosa Documentary Festival - Views of the World

30 Jul – 3 Aug | Plataniskia, Cyprus

17th Brisbane International Film Festival

31 Jul – 10 Aug | Brisbane, Australia

12th LA Shorts Fest

15 Aug – 21 Aug | Hollywood, USA

13th Milano Film Festival

12 Sep – 21 Sep | Milano, Italy

4th NYC Shorts: New York City Short Film Festival

19 Sep – 20 Sep | New York, USA

Anim'est Festival International de Animatie

Anim'est International Animation Festival

3 Oct – 12 Oct | Bucharest, Romania

53rd Cork Film Festival

12 Oct – 19 Oct | Cork, Ireland

44th Chicago International Film Festival

16 Oct – 29 Oct | Chicago, USA

26th ATOM Awards

24 Oct | Melbourne, Australia

7th Brisbane International Animation Festival

28 Oct – 30 Oct | Brisbane, Australia

24th Interfilm: Internationales Kurzfilmfestival Berlin

Interfilm: International Short Film Festival Berlin

4 Nov – 9 Nov | Berlin, Germany

IF Awards

13 Nov | Australia

Australian Film Institute Awards

6 Dec – 7 Dec | Australia

2009

18th Flickerfest

9 Jan – 18 Jan | Sydney, Australia

6th Festival International du Film Ethnographique du Québec

International Ethnographic Film Festival of Quebec

23 Jan – 25 Jan | Canada

FICCI BAF Awards

17 Feb – 19 Feb | Mumbai, India

3rd Heart of Gold International Film Festival

25 Mar – 29 Mar | Gympie, Australia

3rd Dallas International Film Festival

26 Mar – 5 Apr | Dallas, USA

Aspen Shortsfest

1 Apr – 5 Apr | Aspen, USA

6th Vail Film Festival

2 Apr – 5 Apr | Vail, USA

7th Garden State Film Festival

3 Apr – 5 Apr | Asbury Park, USA

52nd San Francisco International Film Festival

23 Apr – 7 May | San Fransisco, USA

6th Be Film: The Underground Film Festival

28 Apr – 2 May | New York, USA

7th Festival de Curtmetratges de Manlleu

Manlleu Short Film Festival

20 May – 30 May | Barcelona, Spain

26th St Kilda Short Film Festival

26 May – 31 May | Melbourne, Australia

3rd Dungog Film Festival

28 May – 31 May | Dungog, Australia

5th Little Big Shots International Film Festival for Kids

3 Jun – 8 Jun | Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Australia

14th New Jersey International Film Festival

5 Jun – 21 Jun | New Brunswick, USA

63rd Edinburgh International Film Festival

17 Jun – 28 Jun | Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Melbourne International Animation Festival

20 Jun – 28 Jun | Melbourne, Australia

15th Palm Springs International ShortFest

23 Jun – 29 Jun | Palm Springs, USA

10th Big Bear Lake International Film Festival

18 Sep – 20 Sep | Big Bear Lake, USA

Project Twenty1 Film and Animation Festival

1 Oct – 4 Oct | Philadelphia, USA

3rd Stavanger Kortfilm Festival

Stavanger Short Film Festival

1 Oct – 3 Oct | Stavanger, Norway

3rd БОЛЬШОЙ ФЕСТИВАЛЬ МУЛЬТФИЛЬМОВ

Big Cartoon Festival

28 Oct – 8 Nov | Moscow, Russia

Main contact

Beth Frey

Flag of Australia

Production Country

Australia

(Melbourne, Victoria)

Completion Date

January 2008

Running Time

7 min

Animation Techniques

Stop-motion

Dialogue Languages

No Dialogue

Subtitle Languages

No Subtitles

Picture

Color

Aspect Ratio

1.78:1 (16:9)

Classification

G (Australia)

Updated: 16 Sep 2009

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Information on this profile is provided by the film owner and/or compiled from available sources.