muzzler
a dystopian thriller by leeya mengistu
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF YOU COULD ONLY SPEAK ONCE A YEAR?
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF YOU COULD ONLY SPEAK ONCE A YEAR?
MORE ABOUT
MUZZLER
In a suburban cult where members only speak once a year (or get shushed, muzzled, or relieved of their tongue) a young woman is burdened by the role of punishing a new friend.
meet the creator
LEEYA MENGISTU
Leeya Mengistu is a writer, director and audio producer with roots in Ethiopia, the DMV area and the American South. Her art aims to create harsh and beautiful propaganda for the world she'd rather live in.
Her debut short film Muzzler draws from historical methods of silencing such as 16th-century scold's bridles, as well as her personal battle with self-censorship.
Muzzler was developed in the UnionDocs "Writing New Worlds" 2019 audio fiction workshop, written with the support of the Kashif Incubator's "Writing Dope Shorts" 2023 Screenwriting program, and polished in the Spring 2024 Open Screenplay x M Film Lab for Women of Color.