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First Run Features presents
FREE PUPPIES!
The True Story of Rescue Dogs
Opening in Theaters beginning
August 12, 2022 in NYC and August 19 in Los Angeles
Weekend Q&A's in New York City and Los Angeles
with Filmmakers Samantha Wishman & Christina Thomas
and the Tri-state Rescue Ladies
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Millions of rescue dogs from the rural South have been transported to new homes thanks to the tireless efforts of a vast, grassroots network of dog rescuers.
FREE PUPPIES! is the true story of where those dogs came from and the grim challenges facing a group of women rescuers working together to save them.
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A New York Times Noteworthy Film of the Summer
"No, they won’t be handed out with tickets, but presumably seeing rescue dogs placed in new homes in a documentary will make you smile all the same."
~ The New York Times
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The first feature film on the booming national movement to relocate rescue dogs:
Time Magazine
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"Fascinating. To bring lovely animals up from the South is appealing, but how can we help these shelters become sustainable themselves?"
~ CJ Bentley, VP Animal Welfare, Atlanta Humane Society
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Although transports have moved dogs from the South for decades, when Hurricane Katrina left more than 250,000 pets stranded, the infrastructure of modern pet transport for a nation-wide dog rescue effort was born. Since then, individual volunteers, transporters, shelters and rescue groups have created a movement to place millions of southern dogs in areas of the country with high demand for adoption but low supply.
By following a group of women dog rescuers from Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, FREE PUPPIES! reveals the challenges that contribute to the rescue dog crisis in the first place. These women not only save dogs from euthanasia, but also organize affordable and accessible spay and neuter, reform local ordinances, advocate for humane education, and fight urgent and complex challenges facing underserved areas of the rural South.
The film includes interviews with the ASPCA, Atlanta Humane Society, McKamey Animal Center, My Kids Have Paws Veterinary Clinic, Dixie Day Spay, Badass Brooklyn, and dozens of rescue organizations, shelter directors, healthcare providers, and local officials.
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FREE PUPPIES!
A film by Samantha Wishman & Christina Thomas
Opens August 12, 2022 in Live & Virtual Cinemas
70 minutes | color | English
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Credits
Samantha Wishman - Director, Producer, Editor
Christina Thomas - Director, Co-Producer, Editor
Muffie Meyer - Story Editor
Carter McCormick - Director of Photography
Eliot Popko - Director of Photography
Joey McCormick and Willard Hamilton - Original Music
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Filmmaker Biography - Samantha Wishman
Samantha Wishman is a filmmaker from New York City. After graduating from Columbia Law School, she moved to LA to make a short film about pitching a script for a feminist softball comedy in Hollywood, which went on to play at a number of festivals. She adopted a rescue dog named Billie Hollydale before returning home to make FREE PUPPIES!.
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Filmmaker Biography - Christina Thomas
Christina Thomas is a producer, director and editor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from The University of Pennsylvania she moved to Los Angeles where she has worked on several productions including commercials, shorts and features. FREE PUPPIES! is her documentary directorial debut. She enjoys giving equal attention to her dogs Harvey and Ruphus.
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