The Dog Film Festival is a celebration of the remarkable bond between dogs and their people. Onscreen at Reading Cinemas Grossmont, there'll be two distinct short film programs, featuring a medley of canine-centric films. The first program features a child-friendly selection of lighthearted animated and narrative pieces, including a remastered presentation of photographer William Wegman's The Hardly Boys in Hardly Gold. The second program is comprised of short documentaries and more sophisticated narrative works, some of them subtitled. San Diego Humane will also have dogs outside of the theater, where you can adopt an adorable pooch into their forever home or pose for photos with them on the green carpet.

Event Description:

Film Program #1 | (90 minutes)

REWIND (4:00) Razor Jane’s music video starring her own unusual dog in a rollicking story.

GAME OF BONES (10:30) Director Blaire Dobiecki (Melbourne, Australia) re-imagines the popular television series with a similar name, starring her own rescued Lab, Helen, as the heroine.

THE LEWIS LECTURES (7:30) Merrill Markoe’s animated depiction of what dogs actually think and do when we leave the house.

THE HARDLY BOYS IN HARDLY GOLD (28:00) The great photographer William Wegman made this film in 35 MM in 1995, which he graciously remastered just for the Dog Film Festival.

BETA (13:00) Jon Lefkovitz’s tale of a couple whose adopted dog can (selectively) communicate.3

FOG OF COURAGE (7:35) John R. Dilworth (an Academy Award nominee) made this animated horror/comedy about a cowardly dog named Courage.

CONVERSATION WITH MY DOGS (2:45) Humorist Merrill Markoe questions why her dogs follow her everywhere.

USEFUL DOG TRICKS (4:00) Heather Brook’s Terrier Jesse embodies “multi-tasking.”

LOOKING FOR LOVE (3:00) Australian director Blaire Dobiecki stars her rescued black Lab, Helen, in a cautionary tale about looking for love online.

DINE IN THE DARK (:30) Jake Shannon, an Australian student, made this PSA for Guide Dogs for the Blind to create empathy for living with vision-impairment.

HARVEY DOGS HOME (1:00) A delicious British vignette promoting adoption.

Film Program #2 | (106 minutes)

DOG YEARS (4:00) Director Sam Hearn’s voice-over of a dog who questions his relationship with his frequently absent owner.

THE POODLE TRAINER (7:45) Vance Malone’s character study of a circus trainer, whose performing poodles are the center of her universe. (in Russian, sub-titled)

LE SAUVETAGE (6:00) Peter Mcevilley’s faux-French tale of how dogs view us and bring us together – promoting adoption with the rescued performing Olate dogs. (in French with subtitles)

SECOND CHANCES (20:00) Director Steven Latham’s film about female prisoners who train dogs from shelters, changing lives on both ends of the leash.

989 MILES HOME (15:00) Laurence Alexander’s student film depicting the volunteer transports of discarded dogs in South Carolina to welcoming adoptive homes in the Northeast.

SURFice (5:00) Director Judy Fridono’s video about her Golden Retriever Ricochet, who was raised to be a service dog but instead became a SURFice dog. Surfing to raise money for causes. (sub-titled)

A BOY AND HIS DOG (9:30) Jonna Mciver ’s documentary features Owen – a very little boy – whose family adopts Haatchi – a very big dog – and how they make each other whole.

MYRA & PRINCE (4:00) Director Christine Kim is a social worker for homeless people with pets – and chronicles the story of a former showgirl, Myra, who experienced homelessness with her dog Prince. (Founding Sponsor Halo has provided a year’s worth of dry and canned food for them as a result of the Dog Film Festival.)

DAVID & GOLIATH (12) Director George Zaverdas based his period film on a true story of a Jewish resistance fighter fleeing from the Nazis, who takes refuge in a dog house where the German shepherd saves his life.

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MOLLY (6:45) British director Sue Carpenter’s love tribute to her black Lab Molly.

VALENTINA (9:30) Spanish directors Crespo and Romera’s tale of an estranged couple and their Pug Valentina, who brings them back together. (in Spanish, sub-titled).

HARVEY & HARMONY (1:00) Saving the best for last.

While both programs are suitable for children, the films in Program #2 contain subtitles.