Indy Feature The Year of the Dog
Opens at the VIP Lincoln Grand
Producers to Donate Portion of Proceeds to
Humane Society of Logan County
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[April 04, 2023]
Award-winning,
independent feature film, The Year of the Dog, a poignant story
about two strays— a loner alcoholic struggling to maintain sobriety
and a rescue dog with an unusual athletic gift—opens for a minimum
two-week run at the VIP Lincoln Grand 6 on February 24.
“A portion of the ticket sale net profits will be donated to the
Humane Society of Logan County, Illinois,” says Rob Grabow, one of
the film’s producers. Grabow, who was also the film’s writer,
co-director, and lead actor, marveled at how spontaneous this
amazing husky was in scene after scene. “The true star of the film
is the scene-stealing Caleb, a pure-bred Siberian Husky rescue, who
had been shuffled between multiple foster homes and animal shelters,
because he had been described as ‘too much dog’ or ‘too energetic.’
The producers agreed that it was important to support and champion a
local animal shelter since it was clear that what others saw as
Caleb’s imperfections—his high energy, his playfulness, his
stubbornness—are precisely what make Caleb special and why he was
able to carry so much of this film.” In fact, many dogs featured in
the film are also rescues. “Caleb’s story” says Grabow, “exemplifies
how finding purpose and making connections can heal.”
Before casting Caleb to play the lead canine role of Yup’ik, the
film’s producers had visited several animal shelters and rescues in
their search for a very special husky-like dog.
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It was Jon Van Dyke, a veteran
exotic and domestic animal trainer with more than 35 years’
experience, who ultimately discovered Caleb, then a 9-month-old,
pure-bred Siberian Husky who had recently been adopted by Cathy
and Gregg Pittman, owners of Performing Animal Troupe, based in
Palmdale, CA. When Grabow saw a video of Caleb, he knew
immediately he had found his star. In 6 short weeks, Van Dyke
got Caleb screen ready using only positive reinforcement
training.
Filmed exclusively on location in Montana, The Year
of the Dog, features an accomplished cast of film and television
actors including two prominent Indigenous actors: Jon Proudstar
(veteran of 43 films and short-listed for Emmy consideration for his
performance as Leon in Reservation Dogs) and Lakota actor Michael
Spears (Dances with Wolves, Reservation Dogs, and 1923), an
incredible group of military veterans in both cast and crew roles
including Army Veteran, Darwin Lumbattis, Navy Veteran, Jeff Medley,
and Air Force Veteran, Don Andrews, as well as a glorious array of
dogs from California, Colorado, Montana, and Michigan.
Grabow, who hails from Livingston, MT adds that, “It’s a ‘made in
Montana film’ but the movie’s themes are universal: alcoholism and
recovery, healing through connection, the remarkable love of a dog,
and the struggle to repair damaged relationships when we’ve hit rock
bottom.”
The Year of the Dog (PG-13) is co-directed by Michael Peterson,
Andrew McGinn, and Rob Grabow. Watch the exclusive release of The
Year of the Dog Official Theatrical Trailer on
Apple Trailers here.
[Alison Graham
President|Founder
AJGpr] |