Wheatgrass Books will host a screening of the locally-filmed, award-winning indie feature, The Year of the Dog, on July 13th at 6:00pm at Wheatgrass Books. The showing will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker and Park High School graduate Rob Grabow. The event is free and open to the public.
The Year of the Dog, was shot on location throughout Livingston, the Paradise Valley, and Bozeman, and pulls from real events and to a poignant story about two strays: a loner alcoholic (Matt) struggling to maintain sobriety and a rescue dog (Yup’ik), played by a Siberian rescue named Caleb, with an unusual athletic gift.
Rob Grabow, the film’s writer, producer, co-director, and lead actor, who hails from Livingston, Montana and is a Park High School graduate says, “It’s a Montana film, but I think it’s caught on because the 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. It’s an uplifting message, that was filmed in the area by a mostly local cast and crew. I am still almost overwhelmed by the sense of community that we experienced making the film here and the hundreds of locals from the area – family, old friends, acquaintances, and new friends – who showed up in big ways to make this film possible. That kind of uniting to support each other is truly the film in a nutshell. It’s Livingston in a nutshell.”
The film released theatrically in 100 communities across the country before releasing digitally and has been praised by alcohol and addiction counselors for the honest, uplifting way it portrays alcoholism and recovery. Academy-award winning actor Jeff Bridges, recently tweeted about the film, saying, “I saw a beautiful film recently from a new filmmaker, Rob Grabow, about addiction and recovery, the human-canine bond, and love. Love was the big takeaway for me. I hope you check out the film.”
Wheatgrass Books’ owner, Lisa Snow who is organizing the event says, “I am thrilled to bring ‘The Year of the Dog’ back to town. The film’s themes are relevant today and it’s nice to celebrate a film that really came about because of our community. Being able to screen locally is amazing as is having the opportunity to have Rob and potentially some other cast and crew available to meet and talk afterward. I can’t wait to see everyone there!”
The film currently has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, and the NYC Movie Guru wrote in a review that, “The Year of the Dog is a triumph. It’s a warm, wise and genuinely heartfelt journey worth taking.”
In addition to the scene-stealing rescue husky Caleb, the movie features plenty of local talent including Lakota actor Michael Spears, from 1923, Reservation Dogs, and Dances with Wolves, Filmmaker, Rob Grabow, co-Director Michael Peterson, producer Heather Hanley, actor Aaron Finley, Logan Hanley, Cat Lofgren, Mick Burlington, Abram Boise, Bob Broughton, Ross Winfrey, and many others. It also features many local locations including, The Post Office, the Redeemer Lutheran Church, the Truckstop Diner, Murdoch’s, and the Yellowstone House among them.
The Year of the Dog (PG-13) is co-directed by Michael Peterson and Rob Grabow, Bozeman locals as well as Andrew McGinn. Watch the trailer on here. Production stills, cast and crew details, and theater release information is available online at www.theyearofthedogmovie.com, Instagram, and Facebook.
Wheatgrass Books is located at 120 N. Main St. in downtown Livingston. For more information, send an email to wheatgrassbooks@gmail.com or call 406. 224. 4510.
