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Geralyn Rae Pezanoski, USA, 2009, 80 minutes
Like millions of others, director Geralyn Pezanoski was profoundly affected by the images of Hurricane Katrina: people stranded on rooftops, suffering crowds at the Super Dome, and the decimation of one of America’s most culturally vibrant and diverse cities. She was devastated as well by images of the thousands of family pets in distress. When she read about a growing rescue effort being carried out by animal lovers from across the world, Pezanoski decided to go to New Orleans to document this incredible undertaking. She filmed pet rescue workers, animal rights advocates, and thousands of dogs and cats in cages. While a few residents trickled back into New Orleans and managed to reclaim their pets, most were displaced and barred from entering the city, so day after day these unclaimed animals were loaded onto trucks and planes and sent to shelters across the country, their fates uncertain.
As time went on, residents began returning to New Orleans to try to rebuild their lives and it became apparent that many people who had lost everything were desperate to find their pets. And there were hundreds of other cases of people who were still displaced but on the hunt for their animals.
This moving, character-driven story follows several New Orleans residents as they attempt the daunting task of trying to re-unite with pets that have been adopted out all over the country. It also chronicles custody battles that arose between the survivors of the disaster and people who adopted the pets, even when their displaced guardians still desperately wanted them. At the centre of this tension are pets that are loved like family, but by law are considered property.
Mine explores how tragedy intensifies the human/animal bond. Set in a post-Katrina landscape of poverty, loss and moral uncertainty, the film presents the complexity of an emotional situation. A tragedy of this scale reveals the worst and brings out the best in people. A compelling meditation on race, class and the power of compassion, Mine is a story that challenges us to see that the way we treat animals can be a reflection of how we treat each other.
Audience Award for Best Documentary, 2009 SXSW Film Festival
Audience Award, 2009 San Francisco Documentary Festival
“The absorbing docu Mine… is a quintessentially American story of good intentions stifled by rampant bureaucracy. Winner of the nonfiction audience award at this year’s SXSW fest, the pic has the dramatic tension necessary to hold the arthouse screen, and should see clear sailing down ancillary waters…”
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Eddie Cockerell, Variety
Director’s biography
Geralyn Pezanoski, Co-Founder of Smush Media, has 12 years experience in film and video production and makes her feature directorial debut with Mine. Film producing credits include the narrative short, On A Tuesday (Santa Barbara & LAIFF) and the feature-length Motherland (SXSW), and directing credits include the doc series Firehouse (Sony Pictures Entertainment). She lives in San Francisco with her husband Peter and their dog Nola.
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