Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight - Bernardsville - discuss @The Station House

IN PERSON - Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight - time TBD; date TBC
Discussion at The Station House (3 min walk)

Trailer: https://youtu.be/ecvYhWI7KOA?feature=shared

*** At the end of June, Chris, at Bernardsville Theater will provide a firm date, after he works with Sony Classics to get this "limited" release.

for DISCUSSION:
I'm open to driving 24-35 mins to an African restaurant - found about 6. If there is strong interest (please comment), I'll share links. Meantime, using the Station House:
Menu: https://www.thestationbernardsville.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AprilStationMenu2025.pdf

the FILM:
"Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight" 1hr 38m R [Violent/Bloody Images|Language|Some Underage Smoking/Drinking|Sexual Assault]

Release date: July 11, 2025 (USA)
Director: Embeth Davidtz
Running time: 1h 38m
Executive producers: Frankie du Toit, Anele Mdoda
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Producers: Embeth Davidtz, Paul Buys, Helena Spring
Starring: Lexi Venter as Alexandra "Bobo" Fuller,
Embeth Davidtz as Nicola Fuller, Zikhona Bali as Sarah, Fumani Shilubana as Jacob, Rob Van Vuuren as Tim Fuller, Anina Reed as Vanessa Fuller
Based on: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight; by Alexandra Fuller

"Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight" thrusts us into the tumultuous world of 8-year-old Bobo, whose childhood unfolds on her family's Rhodesian farm, now Zimbabwe, as the Bush War rages to its bitter end. Set against this violent backdrop, and seen through her eyes, we witness the family's desperate attachment to Africa's soil and the deep, festering scars of a war that reshapes both land and soul. More below from Reviews on the film and on the Memoir on which it was pulled.

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REVIEWS
https://**mzansilifeandstyle.com**/tag/lexi-venter/
"...Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight received rave reviews at the [2024] Telluride and Toronto International Film Festivals, where Davidtz was praised for her extraordinary writing and directing debut and 8-year-old Venter was applauded for her incredible performance. The film was showcased at the Zurich Film Festival (3 – 13 October) in Switzerland....

Growing up in the midst of this long-running war, Bobo internalizes both sides of the struggle. Conflicted by her love for people on opposing sides, she tries to make sense of her life in a magical way. Through her eight-year-old eyes, the film takes audiences on a powerful journey through Rhodesia’s final days, exploring the family’s unbreakable bond with Africa, and the deep scars that the war left on survivors...."

https://**www.hollywoodreporter.com**/movies/movie-reviews/dont-lets-go-to-the-dogs-tonight-review-alexandra-fuller-embeth-davidtz-1235985478/
[extract]

‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ Review: An Extraordinary Adaptation Takes a Child’s-Eye View of an African Civil War
Actress Embeth Davidtz makes her directorial debut with a drama based on Alexandra Fuller's 2001 memoir, and anchored by a remarkable star turn from a 7-year-old......

Davidtz, known as an actress (Schindler’s List, among many others), directs and wrote the screenplay for Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight and stars as Fuller’s sad, alcoholic mother. Or, actually, co-stars, because the entire movie rests on the tiny shoulders and remarkably lifelike performance of Lexi Venter — just 7 when the picture, her first, was shot. It is a bold risk to put so much weight on a child’s work, but like so many of Davidtz’s choices here, it also turns out to be shrewd.

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THE MEMOIR on which the film is based
Alexandra Fuller's memoir has been widely praised for its candid and unflinching portrayal of a family's struggle to survive in a turbulent time. It has also been adapted into the film we'll be seeing.

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, a memoir of life with Alexandra Fuller and her family on a farm in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe.)[1] After the Rhodesian Bush War ended in 1980, the Fullers moved to Malawi, and then to Zambia. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize in 2002, was a New York Times Notable Book for 2002 and a finalist for The Guardian's First Book Award, an award given to the best regional novel of the year.

The phrase "going to the dogs" has been used for centuries to describe things that are deteriorating or losing value. The memoir uses the title to capture the family's sense of unease and loss as they navigate the political and social turmoil of the era. The title is a poignant reminder of the family's attachment to Africa and the challenges they face in a changing world.
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