Ramshackle, shot on a shoestring (under US$100,000), Dogs follows in a long and not always glorious tradition of low-budget American independent filmmaking. Billed as a comedy "about sex, gambling and your mother," it's the story of four roommates living together in some chaos in a shambolic apartment on New York's Lower East Side.

Ringleader is Leila, a sensuous 28 year old whose last remaining relative, her mother, has just died. Driven by grief, boredom and wilful eccentricity, she cajoles her impoverished friends into helping her organise a gambling racket in the kitchen, an endeavour which almost inevitably ends up in disaster and a night in the clink.

In betting parlance, teams who win are dubbed "favourites" while those who are habitual losers are dismissed as "dogs." Fortunately, Annenberg's film falls into the former category. It's shot in a freewheeling, improvisatory style reminiscent of Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It.

With its outlandish characters and self-consciously screwball humour, and the relish with which Annenberg and her exciting young cast attack the material, the feelgood factor is always high.

Geoffrey Macnab

Prod co: Homegrown Pictures

Prod: Heather D'Adamo, Eve Annenberg

Dir: Eve Annenberg

Ph: Joe Foley, Wolfgang Held

Scr: Eve Annenberg, additional dialogue by Stephanie Sharpe

Cast: Toby Huss, Pam Columbus, Pam Grey, Leo Marks, Amedeo D'Adamo

Running time: 80 mins

Screening: 26 June, 22.00, Praha

[Home ] [Content ] [The Sponsors ] [The Team ] [Comments ] [Help ]