DOG ON TRIAL

(Le Procès du chien)

CINEMA COMPETITION
RENOIR THEATRE
Comedy

THURSDAY OCTOBER 31
5:50 pm (Screening ends at 7:25 pm)

Presented in association with:
MK2 Films
Quiver Distribution
France Télévisions
Women In Film

North American Premiere | Switzerland, France | 2024 | Comedy | 85 min | In French with English subtitles

Directed by: Laetitia Dosch
Written by: Laetitia Dosch, Anne-Sophie Bailly
Produced by: Frédéric Mermoud & Ursula Meier (Bande à Part Films), Thomas Verhaeghe & Mathieu Verhaeghe (Atelier de Production), RTS
Cinematography: Alexis Kavyrchine
Film Editing: Suzana Pedro
Original Score: David Sztanke
Cast: Laetitia Dosch (April Lucciani), François Damiens (Dariuch), Pierre Deladonchamps (Jerome), Jean-Pascal Zadi (Marc), Anne Dorval (Roseline), Anabela Moreira (Lorene Furtado), Mathieu Demy (The Judge)
International Sales: MK2 Films
US Distributor: Quiver Distribution
US Release Date: 2025

“Is a dog the same as a table?” Well, in fact, in the eyes of Swiss law, it is. Thus begins Laetitia Dosch‘s somewhat absurdist, yet increasingly serious courtroom drama. It all begins when April, an idealistic lawyer with a predilection for lost causes, agrees to defend Cosmos, her client’s faithful canine companion, who is accused of biting three people… and whose very life now hangs in the balance. If April loses this case, as she almost always does, the frisky, affectionate pup will be put to death. As ridiculous as that sounds, that is indeed the law of the land in most countries around the world, including the U.S. And what begins as an almost silly comic premise evolves into a passionate cri de cœur for both animal and women’s rights.

French-Swiss actress-turned-writer-director Laetitia Dosch has appeared in 45 films to date. Her earliest shorts include Academy Award-winner Justine Triet’s Two Ships (2012), for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Côté Court Film Festival. She then nabbed the lead role in Triet’s first feature Age of Panic (COLCOA 2014). However, her breakout performance was in Léonor Serraile’s Caméra d’Or-winning Montparnasse Bienvenüe (COLCOA 2018), which earned Dosch a Most Promising Actress César nomination, a Most Promising Actress Lumière Award, and a Best Actress Award at the Valladolid Film Festival in Spain. She shared the screen with François Damien in Julien Rappeneau’s Of Love and Lies (2019), and has appeared in Marc Fitoussi’s Appearances (2020), Danielle Arbid’s Simple Passion (COLCOA 2021), Ève Deboise’s Petite leçon d’amour (2021), Just Philippot’s Acid (2023), and can also be seen in the Larrieu Brothers’ Jim’s Story in this year’s TAFFF line-up. Dog on Trial premiered in competition in the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.