Land of the Strays

Precious Puppies

January 2003 •English

From newborn pups to working dogs to furry movie stars, cute pooches of all breeds abound in this film that explores the delightful world of canines.

Chavela

June 2017 •Spanish

Inspired by an exclusive interview and performance footage of Chavela Vargas shot in 1991 and guided by her unique voice, the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

Winnie

Invalid date •English

A documentary about a hound named Winnie.

Canine Soldiers: The Militarization of Love

October 2016 •English

A documentary exploring the experience of going to war with a Military Working Dog, trained to find bombs before they can kill or maim soldiers, often at the expense of the dog's sanity.

Space Dogs

August 2019 •Russian

Laika, a stray dog, was the first living being to be sent into space and thus to a certain death. A legend says that she returned to Earth as a ghost and still roams the streets of Moscow alongside her free-drifting descendants. While shooting this film, the directors little by little realised that they knew the street dogs only as part of our human world; they have never looked at humans as a part of the dogs’ world.

Wildgnorance

June 2012 •Italian

Sarna

December 2020 •Spanish

A portrait of Guatemala City and municipalities adjacent to the Pan-American Highway from the eyes of the stray dogs living there.

Not Without My Dogs

October 2013 •English

Out of love for Huskies, nature and cold winters Dave and Kristen Olesen moved from Minnesota to the North West Territories in Canada 25 years ago to create their own little universe on the magnificent East arm of Great Slave Lake. With their two daughters Annika 15 and Liv 12 and their 37 dogs, the Olesens enjoy a unique lifestyle in the wide open wilderness far away from civilization. One winter they all leave their self-built homestead with ten dogs on a two and a half thousand mile family expedition allowing Annika to run the Junior Iditarod in Alaska. As unexpected obstacles all along the trip culminate in three heavily injured dogs the whole endeavor is at risk. Optimism, love and loyalty prevail on this exciting epic family voyage.

Pictures of a Dog at the Bar

September 2024 •Portuguese

just some pictures of a dog at the bar.

Madonna of the Mills

August 2011 •English

Uplifting tale of Staten Island woman who creates modern underground railroad and rescues 2,000 dogs condemned to death in Amish Country puppy mills. The film chronicles Laura F on her weekend rescue missions to Amish Country. With her Brooklyn mom and Staten Island girl friends by her side, Laura embarks on a four-year odyssey to rescue dogs from the hellish conditions of Amish puppy mills. The film follows four of the dogs from the time their lives are spared until they are nursed back to health and placed with their forever families. We see the dogs leave the cages where they have spent their entire lives and watch these dogs, who were given up for dead, transform the lives of the people who adopt them.

A Dog's Life

November 2013 •English

A Dog's Life examines how our canine companions perceive the world - from the moment they take their first morning walk to the time they curl up at our feet to go to sleep. We accompany Daisy, a Jack Russell Terrier, through an average day and on the way discover that, while dogs are not miniature humans, they are amazingly well adapted to life with us. But how well do we know them?

Canine

November 2016 •Sundanese

A family in rural area of West Java, Indonesia enjoys their time with 'Ngadu Bagong', a sundanese traditional game where dogs put to fight against a wild boar in a single event. Ngadu Bagong has always been some sort of animal abuse but it's been in the tradition for a long time. Ade Rohmat has been in the game for a long time; a hobby that he now passes on to his daughter, Ilma Nurjanah. The potentially controversial Ngadu Bagong has always brought intense emotion, prestige, and fortune upon its practicioners.

Street Dogs of South Central

October 2013 •English

Narrated by Queen Latifah, this documentary follows Elsie, a black Labrador mix, and her struggled to raise her puppies on the streets of Los Angeles.

Jagaimo Korokoro ~ Saigai Kyūjo Inu e no Nagai Tabi

January 2015 •Japanese

An Intervention

January 2021 •English

Chelsea Bledsoe and her husband Graig throw a surprise intervention for her old high school boyfriend, Henry, with a mismatched group of acquaintances from back in the day to fill out the guest list.

A Dog Called Laura

October 2023 •English

Martin Clunes explores the secret lives of Britain’s heroic army of guide dogs, inspired by a podcast story of a blind woman whose life had been changed by her guide dog but who now faces the daunting task of finding a new dog.

The Route of the Conquerors

November 2024 •Spanish

In times of global ecological crisis, Costa Rica seems to be an oasis for its rich biodiversity. Nacho traces a route to learn about agroecological projects, discovering what the indigenous communities call "good living" Could this be the solution?

The Secret Life of Dogs

August 2013 •English

The Secret Life of Dogs explores how man's best friend experiences the world. Tap into dogs' inner psyche in order to determine the true meaning behind various behaviors and body language. Delve deep into canine biology as it is studied through slow-motion footage, thermal images and macro photography, providing new insights into how dogs drink, shake off water, and whether your best friend is left or right pawed.

Oscar Arias: Without a Shot Fired

June 2017 •English

This is the story of a tiny country that made a decision to do something that no other country had ever done -- it decided to abolish its army and declare peace to the world. And this is the story of a young boy who grew up in that country, and how he ended up challenging -- and sometimes even convincing -- the greatest powers in the world to follow Costa Rica's example. "Oscar Arias: Without a Shot Fired" is a Don Quixote-like saga with great historical touchstones -- Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, Cold War politics and Communism, Central American War and Peace. It follows a slight, academic, and most unlikely hero over the course of more than fifty years, as he travels the world in a quest to stop the spread of the weapons of war. In the end, it is a story about the triumph of reason, of the sparrow triumphing over the eagle, and how the impossible dream can sometimes come true.

A Small Section of the World

January 2014 •English

An inspirational story about a group of women from a remote farming region of Costa Rica whose ideas sparked a revolution in the coffee growing world.