By Daily Press staff
Arts Fighting Cancer, the non-profit organization which co-produces the free outdoor movies at the Santa Monica Pier, will host a sneak peek screening of “The Dogwalker” as a benefit for the Cancer Relief Fund. The film will screen at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 23 at the Laemmle Monica 4, 1332 Second St.
A reception will follow immediately at Ma’Kai Lounge, 101 Broadway. The cost of the screening is $15 or $35 for the film and reception. Tickets can be purchased at the Laemmle box office or at www.laemmle.com. Proceeds benefit the Cancer Relief Fund.
Jacques Thelemaque, a respected member of the Los Angeles independent film community and founder of Filmmakers Alliance, offered to screen “The Dogwalker” as a fundraiser for The Cancer Relief Fund.
“This film truly represents the spirit of independent filmmaking and is worthy of community support,” said Michael Cain, founder of Arts Fighting Cancer and cofounder of the Santa Monica Drive-in at the Pier. Arts Fighting Cancer is a non-profit which produces film events to raise funds for the Cancer Relief Fund. To date, the Cancer Relief Fund has given more than $60,000 in grants to individuals battling cancer in the greater Santa Monica and Dallas areas.
Set against the colorful backdrop of the Los Angeles dog walking scene, “The Dogwalker” follows the moving, transformational journey of Ellie Moore (Diane Gaidry) on the run from her latest abusive boyfriend.
Down and out on the mean streets of LA, rescue comes in the unlikely form of Betsy Wright (Pamela Gordon), a misanthropic dogwalker in need of help with her business and struggling with her own dark past.
The unusual relationship between the cranky dog walker and her unstable apprentice sets the stage for the emotional transformation Ellie must undertake. In Betsy, Ellie encounters a dark mirror of herself; a lonely, angry, complex woman whose own troubled past proves disturbing like her own. And in the dogs, Ellie finds lost pieces of herself as she fumbles with the leash to her own life, struggling to hold on as it pulls her toward a brighter future before her past catches up with her.
The film will open in Los Angeles on Aug. 25. The feature may not be suitable for children under 17 as the film includes adult language and situations, and some nudity.
For more information about the event, visit www.smff.com.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 18, 2006. Read the original PDF.