There’s not much doubt Durangoans love their dogs. And on Thursday, they’ll have a chance to help other dogs as well.
The third annual Bow Wow Film Festival will be held at the Durango Arts Center on Thursday, and all proceeds from the evening will benefit the La Plata County Humane Society.
We talked to filmmaker Lauren Mayhew, whose animated film “Laika and Rover” is included in this year’s festival.
Q: How did you get involved with the Bow Wow Film Festival?
A: Our school encouraged us to go ahead and look for film festivals that the films we created would be eligible for. Naturally, I sought out ones that were dog-centric since I had a dog-centric film.
Q: Tell me a little bit about “Laika & Rover.”
A: “Laika & Rover” was inspired by the true story of Laika the dog that was sent up as part of the Soviet space program. When I read about that story, it was very poignant – it elicited a strong emotional reaction in me just because it was so tragic and so upsetting. I really wanted to sort of do something ... I went out and looked to see if others had done this, and there are lots of picture books and stuff of people trying to give a happier ending, and that’s what I felt like I wanted to do, too, to honor her and her memory and how she helped the space program progress. That was the goal. The Rover part came from just kind of the pun that a rover is a space rover and is also Rover, like the stereotypical dog’s name, so I thought it was funny to pair a dog with a rover.
Q: So you did this movie all by yourself?
A: I did.
Q: How long did it take?
A: I did it as my senior thesis project, so I started the second semester of my junior year with concepting and preproduction, concept art and animatics and all that, and then my entire senior year I worked on actually executing the film.
Q: Why do you think participating in a film fest like this is important?
A: I think the whole idea of film festivals is important – the fact that people get to share something that they poured tons of time and effort and love and care into. And to be able to share that with other people who are interested in seeing it and participating in a conversation about whatever that film happens to be about, I think that’s really important. It’s like why art galleries are important: It’s sharing your work with others and having other people react to it.
katie@durangoherald.com
If you go
What: The third annual Bow Wow Film Festival.
When: 6:30 p.m. (doors), 7 p.m. (show) Thursday.
Where: Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave.
Tickets: Online: $12 adults, $7 children younger than 12. At the door: $15 adults, $9 children. Tickets available online at http://bit.ly/2u9JPF5.
More information: All proceeds benefit La Plata County Humane Society.
