Bow Wow Film Festival – Laugh, Cry, and Get Inspired While Helping Animals!

I’m totally that “crazy lady” that wants to take my dogs with me everywhere. I love eating out at restaurants with them and take them on 99.9% of my vacations.

There are a lot of places they can’t go though. I either don’t do those things or suck it up and go without them.

A couple of months ago I heard about a dog-centric film festival – The Bow Wow Film Festival. Conceived in 2014, Bow Wow Film Fest has quickly become the premier traveling dog film festival in the US. Depending on the venue, you can even bring your dog to some of the shows.

Whether your furry friend can join you or not, the festival is amazing because it completely revolves around dogs – he movies feature dogs and the film festival benefits dogs.

This traveling film festival is hosted by local rescues, shelters, and organizations that help animals. Although the exact percentage varies, a large portion of the ticket sales go to the host rescue or animal organization.

These movies are right up our (my) alley too. The films in the festival range from outdoor-adventure focused stories, touching stories, funny stories and skits, and stories about our relationship with pets. The festival features about 90 minutes of lovingly curated, fun filled and delightful dog-centric short films.

I got a sneak-peek at all of the films in the 2015-20106 lineup. The one that especially caught my eye is basically a ski movie with a dog. Umm… more please!

Another one of the films – PULL – is a short documentary film that delves into reflections on journeying the cold Northern Canadian landscape by dog sled. Another is Savor – a film about the inner secret that dogs and cats seem to possess when it comes to enjoying life.

The 2015-2016 show has wrapped up but the Bow Wow Film Festival has a whole new set of films lined up for the 2016-2017 season. The exact films haven’t been revealed to me but according to the article Move Over Sundance Bow Wow Film Festival returns to benefit Humane Society, featured in the Durango Telegraph (read the article to see how the film fest is positively impacting one community), the new film lineup “… features … subjects as varied as a puppy learning to ski; a doggie drill team in Maryland; an adventure in the Utah desert to celebrate a milestone; Frank, a canine social media star with an advice column; and the moving story of a dog who helped a young man with autism.”

You can watch the trailer for the 2016/17 season here. Be careful though, even the trailer will make you cry and smile!

I’m excited because the show is coming to Portland, Oregon on October 16th and will be held at the marvelous and historic Hollywood Theatre. I’m working with the film festival and local rescue organizations to try and set up a show in Seattle too.

Other screenings this year will be held in Boulder Colorado, Anchorage Alaska, San Anselmo California, Stillwater Oklahoma, and Minneapolis Minnesota. You can check out all of the locations and dates on the schedule HERE. They’ll be adding new shows for the upcoming season so be sure to keep your eyes on that schedule or their Facebook page.