BUDDY

A film by Heddy Honigmann
2018, 86 minutes
No. 216
Documentary
BUDDY
$375.00
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FAQs
2021 Notable Video | American Library Association

Description
In this delightful documentary about six amazing service dogs and their heroic owners, legendary filmmaker Heddy Honigmann (who's directed some of the most exceptional documentary films of the last 30 years like Metal and Melancholy, O Amor Natural, The Underground Orchestra, Forever), explores the close bond between animal and human. 

Whether grabbing a sheet of paper from a printer, helping to push in a syringe, comforting a veteran with PTSD while he sleeps, or simply being a friend to a child with autism, Honigmann captures the beautiful, intimate moments that define these relationships. She also questions the owners, in her own characteristic way — respectfully and with genuine concern rooted in a deep trust — about what the animals mean to them. 

A deeply felt ode to the fighting spirit, Buddy is an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind documentary film.

Festivals
Official Selection, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam
Official Selection, Documentary Fortnight, Museum of Modern Art
Official Selection, Full Frame Film Festival

Reviews
“Critic’s Pick! Honigmann uses her documentary skills — and her humanity — to illuminate the relationships between service animals and their people…. The movie is warm, observant, mildly philosophical and deeply curious… Without a millimeter of overreach, her movie convinces you that the dogs have kept these people away from overwhelming bleakness by also guiding them into the light.” 
– Wesley Morris, The New York Times

“A tender tribute to tail-wagging treasures. Observing how six service dogs provide crucial daily help and companionship for their grateful owners, the ruminative, accessible affair proves as soothing to the viewer as the faithful pets are to their humans… It's a simple recipe — a nice film about nice people and their lovely dogs — but one that pays regular dividends in terms of quietly accumulated insight and interludes of touching sweetness. Crucially, her warm sensitivity as an interviewer is palpable, earning the trust of her two-legged and four-legged subjects alike." 
– Hollywood Reporter

Subjects