Encounters Festival

The high-profile international short film festival Encounters in Bristol has invited Beheading of a Smiling Dog to run in this years competition. Beheading of a Smiling Dog is representing Switzerland together with the great Locarno-winning film Las pelotas by Chris Niemeyer. We will announce the screening dates and time as soon as they become available.

Festival Screenings in Spain and France

Beheading of a Smiling Dog is running in the international competition of the International Short Film Festival Curtocircuito in Santiago de Compostela in Spain and in France at the Festival Paris-court de Paris 15e.

20th Film Festival Thunersee

Beheading of a Smiling Dog runs at the Film Festival Thunersee. Saturday 19/9 at 10am in Thun, Switzerland.

Budapest Short Film Festival 2009

The Budapest Short Film Festival busho has invited Beheading of a Smiling Dog. Screenings take place between 1/9 and 6/9 in Budapest, Hungary.

Signes de Nuit

Beheading of a Smiling Dog has been invited to the exquisit and unique Signes de Nuit Festival in Paris. The film will run in the international competition program 6 on Wednesday 24/6/2009 at 7 pm in the Finish Institute in Paris.

New Festival Screenings

Beheading of a Smiling Dog will be screened as part of the Filmfest Dresden in a special program called Mitternachtskomödien.
13/5/09, 9pm, Societaetstheater Dresden


The Romanian Short Film Festival Next Project will show Beheading of a Smiling Dog as part of a Locarno Festival special screening.
2/4/09, 7pm, Cinemateca Eforie, Bucharest
5/4/09, 3pm, Cinemateca Eforie, Bucharest

Tampere

The great Tampere Short Film Festival in Finland has invited Beheading of a Smiling Dog to run in the international competition.

Max Ophüls Preis

Beheading of a Smiling Dog has been invited to the 30th edition of the prestigious German film festival Max Ophüls Preis. The festival takes place end of January 2009 in Saarbrücken.

Screenings are scheduled for:
Wednesday 28/1, 10.30 pm, CineStar
Thursday 29/1, 3 pm, CineStar
Friday 30/1, 7.30 pm, CineStar
Saturday 31/1, 10.30 pm, CIneStar

International Film Festival Sao Paulo

Beheading of a Smiling Dog is showing in competition at the Sao Paulo Film Festival 17-30 October 2008.

Beheading of a Smiling Dog is representing Switzerland together with The Friend (Der Freund) by Micha Lewinsky and Lüber Aloft by Anna-Lydia Florin.

World Premiere in Locarno

Beheading of a Smiling Dog will run in competition at the International Film Festival Locarno in Switzerland.

Monday 11/8, 2 pm, La Sala
Tuesday 12/8, 11 am, La Sala
Wednesday 13/8, 6.30 pm, Otello

Some New Film Stills

Toby and Ben surf the internet.


Sick! CNN - Breaking news!


Timmy doesn't get it.


Timmy waiting for some action.


What about this one?

Synopsis

A bunch of witty kids venture into the deep end of 21st century entertainment. Inspired by news images, TV shows and internet video clips they plot to behead Timmy, their pet dog. A surefire recipe for youtube fame.

Beheading of a Smiling Dog is a satire about juvenile curiosity getting entangled with media and the entertainment industry.

"I love the way kids talk. Their language is full of references, they chew on words they barely understand, they trade filthy expressions in a shady corner of the school yard and they happily dilute profound thoughts with stupid remarks. Beheading of a Smiling Dog is a film about language. About the ways words and images are utilised and often enough misused in media and politics and how children revamp them for their own purposes." Georg Lendorff

Mobile Phone Snaps

TOBY
Cool to have them in Black and White, man.

BEN
Yeah. Black and White is like much more real.

FIN
They look really real. I mean like on TV and stuff.

TOBY
Pure juice, no gunk.

Cast and Crew of Beheading of a Smiling Dog

Greg Bushell as Fin
Joseph Godfrey as David
Connor Quilty as Toby
Michael Smith as Ben
Pamela Tickell as Lucy
and Sykes as Timmy

Produced and Directed by Georg Lendorff
Written by Georg Lendorff and Mark Tilton
Co-Producer - Mark Tilton, Kate Allen
Line Producer - Kate Allen
Casting Director - Sarah Hughes

Composer - Dominik Scherrer
Director of Photography - David Raedeker
Location Sound - Roland Heap
Costumes - Sussie Juhlin
Hair and Make-up - Jo Budden
Art Director - Julian Nagel
Assistant Director - Paul Murphy, Irene Maffei

Dog Handler - Gill Raddings

Focus Puller - Matt Smith
Grip and Clapper Loader - Ali Pares
Gaffers - Callum McInnes, Barnaby Sweet
Boom Operator - Jake Whitelee
Dog Prop Maker - Ana Maria Buckley
Casting/Drama Teacher - Annelie Powell
Runner - Justine Skeels
Stills Photography - Annie Morris
Editor - Georg Lendorff
Sound Consultant - Peter Bräker

Film Supplied by Fuji Film
Film Laboratory - iLab
Camera supplied by Movietech

Special thanks to the parents of Greg, Joseph, Connor, Michael and Pamela for their great support. Special thanks to George Milton, Denise Bushell, Tony Emsley (RIP), Grietje Besteman, Annie Morris, Martino Sclavi, Marco van Welzen, Amélie Keller, Dominik Scherrer and Rudolf Buitendach.

The Poster

Here they are, the great kids and Sykes our film dog. The picture has been taken by photographer Annie Morris.

Mobile Phone Close-ups

LUCY
Do we really have to kill Timmy?

DAVID
Of course we do!

TOBY
That's politics!

LUCY
You're boring.