From Phone Loss to Film Success: ‘A Bit Much’

Youssef Mutawe, the director of “A Bit Much,” recently sat down with Roselyn Omaka, the director of the Houston Comedy Film Festival, to discuss his award-winning dark comedy micro film. The conversation shed light on the creative process, directorial techniques, and the personal inspirations behind this unique project.

The Genesis of ‘A Bit Much’

Mutawe’s film, which won the Best Dark Comedy Micro Film award, was born from a real-life incident. As he recounts:

“Funny enough, it came from a true story, in a sense, where somebody, a friend of mine… lost her phone earlier… somebody took it from her at a Burger King.”

This experience led to a phone call with the supposed finder, which ultimately inspired the film’s plot. Mutawe explains how the story evolved:

“We went down and we got the phone back. And it really wasn’t that big of an issue. But then 2, 3 weeks later… Obi, who’s the main actor in the film… reached out… and said, ‘Hey, do you have anything going on in the next 2 weeks? I have an open schedule right now.’”

Director Youssef Mutawe

A Quick Production in Cold Conditions

The film was shot over just two nights in the middle of winter. Mutawe, who was born and raised in Winnipeg, admits to feeling guilty about making his cast and crew work in such cold conditions:

“I was more cut out for those nights than everybody else involved in the film here. So it was a lot of a lot of guilt as I was shooting it being like, I can’t believe I’m making them go outside right now.”

Directorial Approach

Mutawe’s directing style emphasizes giving actors freedom to interpret their roles. He explains:

“My main approach, generally speaking, is to make sure that there’s an actor attached to it that’s really invested in the idea of what we’re doing… It’s finding somebody that sees the character as a real person that they want to embody, exaggerated or not.”

He also shared a valuable tip for directors working with actors:

“Throwing it away a lot of the time is great. Just have the actor not care about the line that they’re saying, and the way that they say it is going to be so heavily influenced by the editing and everything you’ve built around them that the audience is going to interpret whatever you want them to interpret.”

Themes and Personal Connection

Mutawe revealed that anxiety is a recurring theme in his work:

“Film was kind of my way of dealing with anxiety when I was younger… It’s like a safe environment to to grapple with anxiety, and to kind of understand yourself through this lens.”

He also emphasized the importance of relating to his characters:

“It’s all parts of me. Every character that I write has something to do with me. I can’t imagine completely trying to conceive of somebody that I don’t relate to on any sense.”

Future Projects and Aspirations

While discussing his future projects, Mutawe expressed excitement about an upcoming script he hopes to shoot in the spring:

“I’m gonna manifest. I’m trying to get 80 grand for it, so we’ll see… you know, at least 40. 40 is the bottom. So fingers crossed.”

When asked about how he wants to be remembered, Mutawe humbly responded:

“I don’t really worry about legacy too much. I don’t really care about that… I wanna have kids. So I want my kids to remember me fondly. That’s pretty much it. And and my friends, and like leave some kind of a mark in a relatively small circle.”

Youssef Mutawe’s “A Bit Much” is a testament to quick thinking, collaborative filmmaking, and the power of personal experiences in storytelling. As he continues to explore themes of anxiety and identity in his work, we can expect more compelling and relatable films from this talented director in the future.