BETALEVEL


Mr. Sadman

Special Work-in-Progress Preview Screening

Saturday, June 6th at 8pm

Free

In 1990, before the First Gulf War, Mounir, a mute and sheltered Saddam Hussein body-double, loses his job and moves to Los Angeles in search of a new start. But once the real Saddam invades Kuwait, making international headlines, Mounir learns the truth about the Iraqi dictator and vows to shed his Saddam persona forever. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know how to be anyone else. 

Exposed to the wonders of his new world, Mounir journeys through the streets of Los Angeles and American life on a strange quest to rediscover the love, adoration and happiness he once knew.

GENRE: Dark comedy
RUNNING TIME: 85 min.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT:

I was interested in this question: If the one thing that gives you meaning in life and defines who you are is taken away, what are you left with? In that respect, Mounir’s changed perspective of Saddam, and by extension, himself, is what drives him to find happiness by any means necessary. Mounir is mute and serves as a cipher to the confusing and sometimes absurd world around him. The film explores social phenomena such as our obsession with celebrity and trends of random violence.

BIO:
Patrick Epino was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and started making narrative and experimental short films during his undergraduate years at the University of Chicago. He later received his MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University. His films SPUNK and VOID have screened at numerous festivals around the world. 

Mr. Sadman, his first feature film, was an official selection of the IFP Narrative Rough Cut Labs and was also a finalist for the inaugural $50,000 IFP Finishing Grant. With this film Patrick was selected by the film magazine, The Independent, as one of its “10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2009”.

He lives in Los Angeles.

LINKS:

http://mrsadman.com/
http://patrickepino.com/

TRAILER:

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