MORTALS DIRECTORS' NOTES
In spring of 2006 we were turned on to a collection of short stories by Tobias Wolff called The Night in Question. Each story dealt with an often mundane event that, in one way or another, changed the life of the protagonist, hence the title.
This was particularly true of the first story in the collection, Mortals. We were immediately drawn to it, not only because we knew that it would translate well to the screen, but also because of the themes and characters.
We related to the main character, whom we named Daniels, and felt he had a universal appeal. Everyone has felt, at one time or another, the way Daniels—and to some degree, Givens—does at the start of the film. We all have struggled with accepting ourselves, validating ourselves and recognizing the value in things that we take for granted.
We feel the film speaks to those themes without losing sight of telling a concise, quirky story with a couple of twists and turns in it. Our only hope is that you enjoy watching it at least half as much as we enjoyed making it.