Film, 29’15”, 2021, aspect ratio: 1:66:1, Colour, Language: Italian (English Subtitles).
“A haunting and depressing story, De Alessi weaves a tale of tragedy and loss deep with the idea of adolescence. This short is truly astounding and completely heartbreaking.” – HorrorObsessive Magazine
Included in Adrian Martin’s favourite films list of 2021 – Screenhub Australia
LOGLINE
Following the sudden disappearance of her father, young Fiamma (Mariandrea Cesari, Moda Mia) is visited by a mud monster. As her encounters with the creature become more frequent and intense, she begins to suffer from a sudden, mysterious illness.
DIRECTOR’ S NOTES
MUDMONSTER came from a simple idea — the childish fear of something, maybe a monster, watching you through the window. I wanted to talk about a child…a character who still exists in a place where the boundaries between her inner and outer worlds are blurred. A space of mystery and creation, where those questions which can’t be asked in the real world, perhaps because they are too painful to even consider, often find an answer.
Fiamma’s illness is unexplainable, just as the presence of monsters in her life is: the monster that she sees standing by the swing, but also the other monster — the lack of communication in her family. In the midst of an incredibly mysterious time of her life — childhood — Fiamma finds herself dealing with an even more confusing event: her father’s death.
CAST
Mariandrea Cesari, Noa Zatta, Laura Bombonato, Andrea Vasone
CREW
Director of Photography: Piero Cioffi – Camera Operator: Thomas Rowe – First Assistant Director:Riccardo Bruno – Production Design: Isabella Bruno – Assistant Production Design: Irene Agnoletti – Costumes: Veronica Toppino – Sound Recordist: Marco Romano – Original Score: Golden Fur – Sound Design and Additional Score: Alan F. Jones – VFX: Julio José Perez Lérma
SCREENINGS, AWARDS and NOMINATIONS
A Night of Horror International Film Festival (Sydney, Australia) 2021
Winner BEST DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM BEST LOVECRAFT – INSPIRED SHORT
Trieste Science + Fiction Film Festival (Trieste, Italy) 2021
CRASH International Fantastic Film Festival (Goiana, Brasil) 2022
Mostra del Cinema Internazionale di Salerno (Salerno, Italy) 2022
Nevermore Film Festival (Durham, United States) 2022
Jury Award Nominee BEST DIRECTOR and BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER
Too Short To Wait – Anteprima Spazio Piemonte (Torino, Italy) 2022
South Italy International Short Film Festival (Barletta, Italy) 2022
Abbot Kinney Fantastic Film Festival (Venice, United States) 2022
Ravenheart International Fantastic Film Festival (Oslo, Norway) 2022
Shockfest Film Festival (New York, United States) 2022
Pumpkin Fantasy FIlm Festival (Dali, China) 2022
Insolito Festival de Cine (Lima, Peru) 2022
Djanho! Grotesc-o-vision (Curitiba, Brasil) 2022
Independent Horror Film Awards (United States) 2022
Winner: BEST WRITING, BEST ORIGINAL CONCEPT, BEST MUSIC. Nominee:BEST SHORT, BEST ATMOSPHERE, BEST SCARE, BEST EDITING
Short to the Point (Romania) 2022
AltFF Alternative Film Festival (Toronto, Canada) 2022
Nominee BEST HORROR SHORT
Metropolis Film Festival (Milan, Italy) 2022
H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival (Portland, United States) 2022
Abruzzo Horror Film Festival (L’Aquila, Italy) 2022
Winner PREMIO NOTTOLA
Les Femmes Underground Film Festival (Los Angeles, United States) 2022
Black Cat Award Film Festival
Philip K Dick Film Festival (NYC, United States) 2023
Horror Unleashed Film Festival (Portugal) 2023
Final Girls Berlin Film Festival (Berlin, Germany) 2023
Kalakari Film Festival (Dewas, India) 2023
Midwest Weirdfest Film Festival (Eau Claire, United States) 2023
Montevideo Fantastico (Montevideo, Uruguay) 2023
Bizzarya Film Festival (Portugal) 2023
HorrOrigins Film Festival (Tucson, United States) 2023
Winner BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER
REVIEWS
CINECLANDESTINO (TRIESTE SCIENCE + FICTION FILM FESTIVAL, 2021)
PROGRESSIVELY HORRIFIED PODCAST (NEVERMORE FILM FESTIVAL, 2022)
GRUESOME MAGAZINE (2022)
HORROR OBSESSIVE (2023)
LETTERBOXD
https://letterboxd.com/film/mudmonster/
O.B. DE ALESSI 