From the Ashes of Heartbreak and Humor Comes a New Kind of Storyteller

TIJUANA, Mexico - June 20, 2025 - PRLog -- Tijuana Mexico

Writer and director Mario Estrella is proud to announce the release of his second book — and first in English — The Smut Writer, alongside his new short film God's Favorite Plaything, now available on YouTube.

The book, a darkly comic journey through the chaos of desire, regret, and resilience, offers an unapologetic look at what happens when survival becomes the only plan. Written with brutal honesty and biting wit, Estrella's work taps into a male voice rarely explored with such raw vulnerability. It's not romance, and it's not redemption. It's something messier — and more human.

God's Favorite Plaything, a surreal short film created with the help of AI, follows a washed-up astronaut having a cosmic meltdown — confiding in a clownfish inside his helmet while the world burns behind him. Part confession, part fever dream, the film marks Estrella's directorial debut in the realm of experimental, AI-enhanced cinema.

"This wasn't about perfection," Estrella says. "It was about honesty. About what's left when you strip it all down — the ego, the masks, the clean endings."

The two projects are connected not just by tone, but by soul. Both emerge from years of personal upheaval and creative rebirth. For Estrella, this is storytelling as survival — and laughter as a last stand.

The book is available now at www.thesmutwriter.com, and the short film God's Favorite Plaything can be streamed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m1a2hr3VM8