In A Family That Steals Dogs, the US artist John C Kelley recalls a disturbing incident in which his brother led the abduction of a dog at a funeral in Arkansas. From this unusual starting point, Kelley time-jumps to his brother’s own untimely funeral at the same cemetery just a few months later, and then to a cabin in the woods in Georgia, where he finds himself in a deteriorating physical and mental state. Built from a series of sparse animations and a delicate, disorienting sound design, Kelley’s patchwork autobiography raises complex questions of artistry, mental illness and the complexities of family and home.
An artist grapples with the loss of his brother, and the problem of canine abduction
Director: John C Kelley
7 September 2021
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