Private Project

Mutton

Eight months pregnant, Sherina Samson confronts her detective husband about his secret affair. After a tense argument, she leaves the house briefly, only to return and find him dead. As detectives arrive and begin their investigation, suspicion momentarily falls on Sherina, who is left grappling with her own emotions. With no weapon in sight and the clock ticking, the mystery deepens. As they search for clues in the quiet, unsettling house, the truth remains elusive, hiding in plain sight.

  • Hasantha Prabhoothi Dissanayake
    Director
  • Hasantha Prabhoothi Dissanayake
    Writer
  • Nadeeshani Peli Arachchi
    Key Cast
    "Mrs. Sherina Samson"
  • Malaka Madusanka Vithanage
    Key Cast
    "Detective Neville"
  • Chinthaka Dumith Bandara
    Direcor Of Photography
  • Anura Bandara
    Editor
  • Ananda Bandara
    Colourist
  • Miyuru Sangeeth
    Music Director
  • Sasika Ruwan Marasingha
    Sound Designer
  • Ravishanka Gamage
    Production Designer
  • Hasantha Prabhoothi Dissanayake
    Producer
  • Pasindu Kariyakaranage
    Costume Designer
  • Lakmal Imaduwa
    Makeup Artist
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Crime, Thriller, Drama
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 20, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    1,150 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Sri Lanka
  • Country of Filming:
    Sri Lanka
  • Language:
    Sinhala
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
Director Biography - Hasantha Prabhoothi Dissanayake

Hasantha Dissanayake is a filmmaker from Sri Lanka. He graduated BA (Hons) in Film and Television with First Class from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. He has also received a Diploma in Filmmaking from the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. He was a fellow of the 2022 International Film Business Academy at Busan Asian Film School in South Korea. He is reading for his postgraduate degree in MA in Film and Television Production at the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. He made several fiction short films and documentaries as a director, producer, and screenwriter. He has won several international awards for his short films, and he has participated in several international film festivals. He also worked as an assistant director in the Sri Lankan film industry. He is the founder, creative director, and creative producer of the film production company Prabhoothi Films. He is also a member of the New Asian Producers Network. He has worked as a visiting lecturer in several institutions of higher education in Sri Lanka and now works as a Film and Multimedia Studies Lecturer at NSBM Green University in Sri Lanka.

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Director Statement

"Mutton" is the first Sinhala-language short film adaptation of British author Roald Dahl's short story "Lamb to the Slaughter". As a filmmaker, I was drawn to the psychological tension and quiet intensity of the original story, but I wanted to reinterpret it through a fresh lens, one that reflects our cultural context while using a unique narrative approach.

In this version, Sherina Samson, an eight-month pregnant woman, discovers her husband’s infidelity. Her emotional turmoil unfolds subtly, not through outbursts, but through silence and routine. After an argument and a brief departure from the house, she returns to find her husband, Detective Samson, dead. The story shifts into a quiet investigation led by Detective Neville, a family friend, who begins to suspect Sherina, only to later question his conclusions.

Rather than relying on conventional crime tropes, I wanted to create a space where viewers are part of the unraveling, piecing together clues alongside the characters. The suspense builds not just through what is seen, but through what is left unsaid. My aim was to maintain a sense of emotional ambiguity, letting the audience question not only who committed the crime, but also how far people can be pushed when trust is broken.

By localizing the story in Sri Lanka and telling it in Sinhala, Mutton becomes both a tribute to Dahl’s storytelling and a statement on how universal emotions like grief, betrayal, and silence can find new form in different cultural spaces.