The Identity Theft of Mitch Mustain – Teaser from Incognito Mosquito Flicks on Vimeo.
Former Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain has reached somewhat of a crossroads after completing his college football eligibility at the University of Southern California.
As the former Springdale High School star struggles to find an identity outside the spotlight of major college football, that’s just when things begin to get interesting, says Fayetteville, Ark. filmmaker Matthew Wolfe (Left/Right).
“The more out of the light I get, the easier it is to get comfortable with myself and what it is I want to be.”
– Mitch Mustain
Video still / Matthew Wolfe
Wolfe is working to create a documentary tentatively titled “The Identity Theft of Mitch Mustain,” the first footage of which was recently released on his Vimeo page.
The title of the film, according to Wolfe, is a reference to a side of Mustain that has nothing to do with the sport which he excelled at for years.
“Football was just something Mitch turned out to be good at,” he said. “We made football his identity without even asking him, and everyone got what they wanted out of Mitch, except for Mitch.”
Wolfe said he hopes to humanize the former star, and to give Mustain a voice he’s never had.
Mustain became somewhat of a polarizing figure in Arkansas after he transferred to USC despite leading the Hogs to an 8-0 record as a true freshman starter in 2006.
Wolfe thinks that’s unfair.
“If you read the anonymous posts online about him, you’d think he killed or raped somebody,” he said. “I just feel like I want to let him have a chance to respond to all the negative things, to have the final say on something, in his own voice,” Wolfe told us.
“He’s 24 years old, and in a lot of ways, his life is just beginning,” he said. “I think that’s the thing that’s so interesting.”
Wolfe said he hopes to have the film ready in time for the Little Rock Film Festival this spring.
