We recently connected with Felipe Mucci and have shared our conversation below.
Felipe, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
As a writer/director, coming up with ideas for projects is crucial. If you are unable to do so, you will only be able to work on other people’s ideas/projects and sometimes that can feel unfulfilling. For a long time I struggled trying to write films and tv shows that were interesting to me but that I also felt like it would be engaging to an audience.
A breakthrough happen when I decided to write down how I saw the world. How did I feel about money, politics, work, love, what we are here to do and etc. Once I did that, I realized that I needed to write stories where my characters questioned those assumptions and learned from it. They didn’t have to agree with me, or even accept it. But they had to go through a journey where they would go against those assumptions. From then on, writing became a lot easier and the stories I was writing, more exciting and engaging. The specificity of what I was writing also made it so that audiences feel more connected to what they were being told or reading it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m a Brazilian Writer/Director currently based in Los Angeles. Coming from a family of filmmakers, I have been working in the film and television business for over 3 decades now. I started as an actor when I was 4 years old doing commercials and tv shows, and continued from there. I have done everything on a film set and when I was 19 I decided to go to Canada to study film. At 24 I came to Los Angeles to get my Masters in Directing at the American Film Institute. My American Film Institute thesis “Vlado” has garnered recognition in over 30 festivals and has been selected as a semi-finalist for the Student Academy Award 15’ (Oscars). I have written projects across various genres; however, it is in the thriller, sci-fi, and drama genres where I tend to write the most. My credits include the Netflix docuseries Anitta!, and the feature film “Two Deaths of Henry Baker”, starring Gil Bellows and Tony Curran, which was produced by Warner Bros. The film premiered at the Austin Film Festival and has been sold to Saban Films in North America and is available on HBO Max in the rest of the world. My most recent feature film “Detained”, starring Abbie Cornish and Laz Alonso, is doing the festival run.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
I work as a freelance writer and director and as much as my previous work has helped me attracting new work and people interested in how I could help them, the single most important thing has been this – Be nice. Sounds easy, but anyone who has worked in the film and television business knows, it is not. But being nice, polite and understanding has had the biggest impact in my career. Can’t stress enough how many jobs I have gotten because the clients liked me, as well as my writing. So if there is any advice I can give, it that – be nice.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Yes, definitely. For a writer and director to read scripts, books and see films is all crucial. But also, going to places where people are is fundamental. Sometimes once can get stuck in the fundamentals and forgets to live and experience the world. Now, all that being said, here are some books and youtube channels that have helped me along the way:
Youtube:
– Lessons from a Screenplay
– Studio Binder
– Every Frame of Painting
Books:
– Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk
– Making Movies – Sidney Lumet
Contact Info:
- Website: www.felipemucci.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/felipe_mucci/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felipemucci/
- Other: www.themuccis.com
Image Credits
Photos taken by: Gabriel Kalim Mucci