‘Dogs Are People Too’ screening set for Oct. 12 at Michigan Theater

ANN ARBOR – “Dogs are People Too: A Four Legged Civil Rights Movement” will be shown at the Michigan Theater Screening Room in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 12 ahead of its general release.
The film is a collection of stories that highlights the important place that dogs occupy in U.S. society.

Director Hendrik Faller and producer Tom Miller, both based in the UK, are available for pre- or post-screening interviews.

Two of the featured stories directly confront the legal status of dogs who (like other animals) are considered property.

Michigan animal attorney Chris Olson is prominent in the film which features three of his clients whose dogs were killed by state authorities. We also meet University of Connecticut School of Law professor Jessica Rubin, and former Connecticut legislator Diana Urban, who together conceived, passed into law and now implement a program allowing attorneys and law students to represent the interests of animals in court.

“That’s what initially caught our attention,” said Erin Klug, Chair of the Animal Law Section, State Bar of Michigan and member of Attorneys for Animals who are co-sponsoring the screening. “We came for the law but stayed for the captivating and moving stories about dogs. That’s when we decided to sponsor a screening in Michigan.”

Klug added that they’re inviting animal-friendly Michigan legislators who may get some ideas of bills they can sponsor to make systemic changes to the legal status of animals.

Director Faller sees “Dogs Are People Too” as an opportunity to reach millions of doglovers and make them think about their pets in a completely different way, hoping that it will make viewers question what our relationship with animals says about us.

The film’s U.S. premiere was at the Brooklyn Film Festival in May.

The Michigan Theater screening will include a Q&A with Faller and Miller, Prof. Rubin, Chris Olson and others. Some of the guests will appear remotely, but the sponsors are expecting Miller to be in Michigan. The evening is capped by an “After Glow” with refreshments and beverages available. The host organizations are soliciting sponsorships which include a private meeting with the film’s principals and, for Platinum sponsors, a Friday evening get-together with Olson.

The film’s message and its entertainment value are best captured by the filmmakers. “In a country where 'man's best friend' is also legally speaking a piece of property with no more rights than a table or chair, we found that America's love for dogs is full of fascinating contradictions.

With nearly 100 million dogs in the United States, these beloved four-legged friends/ things were the perfect gateway drug to talking about our relationship with ALL animals. We'd never heard of the concept of non-human personhood before making this film ... Honestly, we still don't have any answers, just a lot more questions!”
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The Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan provides education, information and analysis about issues of concern through meetings, seminars, its website, public service programs, and publication of a newsletter. Membership in the Section is open to all members of the State Bar of Michigan.

Attorneys for Animals is a Michigan non-profit whose mission is to change law and policy through advocacy and education in order to advance the principles that animals are sentient beings, with purposeful lives and inherent value.