Interview: Daniel Mulloy (Baby)

It’s the week before the Sundance Film Festival that best exemplifies the all encompassing commitment to indie film and up-and-coming filmmakers. The week prior to the madness in Park City, the Sundance Institute nurtures (in some snowy setting that I’d love to be a fly on the wall for) about a dozen projects via the Screenwriters and Directing Labs. So before we kick off our coverage for the 28th edition, I deemed it was fit to publish an interview (which took place same time last year) that I conducted with someone who is fresh from the labs with 2012’s January lab invited project, Mitrovica.

Brit Daniel Mulloy is an award-winning short filmmaker (over 80 fest awards folks) who belongs to both the extended Sundance filmmaking family and a celluloid loving family of his own — we’ve featured his sister Lucy and her debut film, Una Noche which is headed off to Berlin next month. We’ve been keeping tabs on the helmer since 2006’s “Antonio’s Breakfast,” and it was last year where I got to speak to Mulloy about what should be the last of a string of shorts, before he embarks on the feature filmmaking portion of his career.

The inspriation for the 25 minute drama “Baby,” is based on a true mishap that thankfully ended well for Mulloy. This nocturnal, at times claustrophobic film features Dardenne Bros.’ discovery in Arta Dobroshi (Lorna’s Silence) and the excellent photography from Lol Crowley (Four Lions, Ballast). With ambigious character motivations steeped in mischief and mystery, this speaks volumes about how a specific setting can coerce and simplify our connection to ours.