Photo Credit: Danni House
As we continue our never ending quest to highlight the talents of rising stars in the LGBTQAI community we introduce to you Mylo Butler. Butler is a filmmaker, director and photographer. After years of freelancing and working with several high-profile production firms, he founded his own production company MyloB Productions. Butler’s thesis film SUNDOWN TOWN tells the story of two boyfriends whose trip home is disrupted after making a short stop in an unwelcoming town.
“To put it simply, this film was inspired by my own past experience and trauma from traveling and being stopped, harassed and put in danger by police for their own amusement while traveling at night with my boyfriend alone,” said Butler.
Mylo Butler talks about the audiences’ reaction to his film and his ultimate goals as a filmmaker.
PrideIndex (PI): Tell us about yourself and how did you become a filmmaker?
Mylo Butler (MB): From a young age I always gravitated towards the camera, I started my career in photography and once I felt comfortable understanding the frame I shifted my focus into storytelling and working with sequences. Now I try to understand all elements of filmmaking technical and artistic.
PI: Are you formally trained? If so when and where did you receive your training?
MB: I started making movies on my own at about 14 making projects on an IPhone 4. After I graduating from high school in New Jersey, I went on and studied at Pratt Institute where I received my BFA in Film/Video and minor in photography.
PI: Name at least 3 people that have influenced your filmmaking style?
MB: The most influential artist for me are: Spike Lee, Rusty Cundieff, Jordan Peele and Nia DeCosta
PI: I first became familiar with your work when I saw the trailer for SUNDOWN TOWN. Why did you choose to make a horror film?
MB: I choose the horror genre because I feel as though there are a lot of traumatic stories in both the LGBTQ+ community as well as the black community that have yet to be explored in cinema. We rarely ever get a chance to be the final girl or the hero of our own stories in real life, so in cinema we have the power to change the narrative.
PI: SUNDOWN TOWN has played in several film fests, how has audiences reacted to it?
MB: I have gotten nothing but positive feedback from audience all over the world mostly referencing the films execution and originality. It means a lot to me since the script Jada Lewter and I wrote echoes my own similar traumatic experience with law enforcement at night.
PI: Where/When will SUNDOWN TOWN play next?
MB: SUNDOWN TOWN just finished playing at Portland Horror Film Festival it will be showing at Out South Queer Film Festival, Taos Pride, Hudson Valley Film Festival, The Vancouver Queer Film Festival, and Out on Film Atlanta Film Festival this summer.
PI: What is your ultimate goal as an artist?
MB: My Ultimate goal as an artist is to bring to light the many stories from groups who have gone without representation for far too long such as the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. In a time when thinking about the images we consume is more important than ever, I’m proud to be a black queer filmmaker and I love telling honest, raw and engaging stories that are respectful and relatable to our beautiful communities.
PI: What’s next for you on the horizon?
MB: Right now I am still trying to figure out who I am as a filmmaker and really diving in to the research required understand the subject matter I want to pursue next.
