Slamdance 2023 Interviews: MASCOT director Remy Van Heugten

MASCOT (Director Remy Van Heugten)

The film’s synopsis: At first glance, Jerry seems like a very normal teenager. He lives with his single mother and younger sister in a quiet coastal town and helps out at an institution for the mentally handicapped. But deep down, frustrations are bubbling within Jerry. Seeking an outlet for these frustrations, he participates in illegal hooligan fights. But when his mother, with whom he has a close relationship, chooses for herself and distances herself more from the family, something snaps. The more Jerry, partly due to social media, gets the idea that everything and everyone is against him, the harder it becomes to control his inner rage. His behavior becomes so radical that he endangers not only himself but the stability of the entire family.

My personal thoughts on MASCOT: Full disclosure is that I am working on the PR for the film, so I am obviously a fan of it. And the thing that I am most a fan of, is that while it follows a long tradition of European films that have dealt with hooligan culture and toxic masculinity (before that term had been coined), MASCOT is a rarity in the unflinching manner in which it delves into the environment that created that bubbling inner turmoil and rage in one young man. Specifically, this film looks into the relationship with the boy’s mother, misguided, mistargeted and unintentionally incredibly damaging. It gives the film an additional layer and element that adds to the building dread and threat of the young man potentially losing his hold on his emotions.