Memories of ‘Mute’ by Brando Improta

8 years ago I started my career in the world of cinema and audiovisuals. One of my first works was Mute. It was like a bet. I read about the dollar baby thing and I’m a huge fan of Stephen King, so I just thought “Why Not”. Mute was shot on a very tiny budget and only in two days. A whole night was spent for the scenes in the car with Monette and the Hitchhiker, and another day for the final scene. Was a very special night for my training as a director, because gave me the possibility to test my skills as a director with a forced location (about 90% of the short is in the car) and as an actor with a character with no lines. The imperative was to reflect the atmosphere of the novella with the micro budget we had. A lot of mistakes were corrected with the editing, my goal was to make fast pacing a screenplay with a lot of dialogues and without the part in the church.

We didn’t have the money to do scenes in another location, so everything had to happen in the car. I think it was a little good job, mostly thanks to the huge work of the mind of King, who wrote a wonderful story, with an ending twist that for me is like an episode of The Twilight Zone. Maybe, if I will shot it today I will change everything, but watching it now, 8 years after, make me always proud of that effort.

Brando Improta – February 23; 2024