Based on the real-life experiences of a friend, Antonio Vasaturo’s striking 15-minute film follows a young man rebuilding his body after illness. As his obsession with his physique intensifies, he embarks on a new journey of discovery as an attraction to similar bodies arises. Told through a series of vignettes centred around its protagonist, also the heart is a muscle, is an experimental portrait of a complex, but relatable character.

Described as a ‘fake story based on true events’, also the heart is a muscle is an aesthetically dark film, that uses it lack of light in its early scenes to place us inside its protagonists headspace. As the short opens with its central character posing for selfies in bed with a young woman, the shot flicks to black and back as it slowly closes in on his face. With no dialogue uttered we’re giving the impression of a pensive man, someone with some heavy concerns resting on his broad shoulders.

As the narrative unravels, piece by piece we construct the puzzle of his conundrum as Vasaturo cleverly drip feeds us clues. They start subtle (the filming of two friends wrestling topless), before getting more obvious (meeting a stranger in a car park), each scenario helping to build a multi-layered character facing an identity crisis that many will identify with. We’re in the final third of the short that a big change finally happens.

After revealing his life-choices to his girlfriend, who doesn’t take the news very well, we’re transported into a nightclub, the dark lighting from before replaced by the colourful illuminations of the location. This isn’t the only change though, as the framing expands from the claustrophobic 4:3 ratio, chosen by Vasaturo to highlight the “sense of suffocation” felt by his lead character, the majority of the film was shot in, to a wider ratio. In these final scenes, we get a real sense of the freedom now felt by a person accepting their true self. It’s a liberating experience for both protagonist and viewer.

New to the world of filmmaking, after studying philology at University, Vasaturo is a self-taught all-rounder, learning how to direct, edit, grade etc on music videos, before making his first narrative short Tina. With that film also nearly making it on to S/W (it was discussed at length by our team), also the heart is a muscle marks the announcement of a brave new talent on the short film scene, one we’re excited to champion on our platform.

Now working on a new short about body dysmorphia, Vasaturo can only improve over time. We just hope he doesn’t lose any of the energy and flair evident in his first two shorts, they’re both raw and a little rough around the edges, but that’s what makes them so exciting.