THE DOG

Director Lam Can-zhao leads a small film crew as they shoot a film about a stray dog in the streets of Guangzhou, leading the viewer into an unpredictable, peculiar and incredible journey. Shot documentary-style while employing characteristics of hybrid cinema, THE DOG’s low-tech, casual style reveals a wealth of stories that reflects both the authenticity and occasional absurdity of the living situations of migrant workers and of those who otherwise live “below the line.” As the debut feature film directed by Lam, THE DOG reads more like a lonely rebel's exploration and revelation to the world.

  • Lam Can-zhao
    Director
  • Lam Can-zhao
    Writer
  • Lam Can-zhao
    Producer
  • Lai Jinghua
    Cameraman
  • Lai Wenhua
    Sound Design
  • Lam Can-zhao
    Editor&Colorrist
  • Christina Bao
    English Subtitles
  • CAO-CAO
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    狗
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Feature, Student
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 27 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 1, 2015
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    2K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Guangdong Literary & Art Vocational College
  • 2016 Salamindanaw Asian Film Festival

    Philippines
    November 13, 2016
    Special Jury Mention
  • 2016 Peak City International Film Festival
    Apex
    United States
    April 2, 2016
    Silver Gaddy Award
  • 2016 Asian American International Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    July 24, 2016
    Emerging Director( Nomination)
  • 2016 The International Gullah Film Festival
    South Carolina
    United States
    July 31, 2016
    Best Student Feature
  • 2016 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival（Academy Award ® Qualifying）
    LA
    United States
    April 23, 2016
  • 2016 Down East Flick Fest
    Greenville
    United States
    June 5, 2016
  • 2016 Asia Film Festival Barcelona
    Barcelona
    Spain
    November 5, 2016
  • 2016 Silk Road International Film Festival
    Dublin
    Ireland
    March 12, 2016
    Best Student Film (Nomination)
  • 2016 South Taiwan Film Festival
    Taiwan
    November 21, 2016
  • 2016 Rivercity Underground Film Festival

    United States
    November 27, 2016
  • 2016 International Human Rights Film Festival — this human world
    Vienna
    Austria
    December 2, 2016
  • 2016 Baghdad International Film Festival
    Baghdad
    Iraq
    December 3, 2016
  • 2016 Delhi International Film Festival
    Delhi
    India
    December 5, 2016
  • 2016 Amphibia Youth Film Festival
    Xia Men
    China
    December 29, 2016
  • 2017 Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival

    Australia
    February 1, 2017
  • 2017 Cameroon International Film Festival

    Cameroon
    April 25, 2017
  • 2017 Cardiff China Film Festival

    February 16, 2017
  • 2017 Salón Internacional de la Luz
    Bogotá
    Colombia
    May 11, 2017
    Best Cinematography（Length Fiction）
  • 2017 Panorámica Independent Film Festival

    Mexico
    July 7, 2017
  • 2017 London Migration Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 30, 2017
  • 2017 Africa International Film Festival

    Nigeria
    October 30, 2017
  • 2017 Festival de Cine de Bogotá
    Bogotá
    October 10, 2017
  • 2018 International Labour Film Festival

    Argentina
  • 2018 Dreamanila International Film Festival

    Philippines
    December 14, 2018
    BEST DIRECTOR
  • 2021 Busan International Animal Film Festival

    Korea, Republic of
    December 5, 2021
  • 2021 Aporia International village film festival

    Korea, Republic of
    December 22, 2021
Director Biography - Lam Can-zhao

Lam Can-zhao, a Chinese filmmaker born in 1994, made his directorial debut at the age of 20 with "THE DOG," a low-budget feature film that brought him into the spotlight. In 2023, he produced, wrote, and edited the short film "A Bright Sunny Day," which was selected for LA CINEF at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. In 2024, his short film "A Summer's End Poem," for which he served as writer, director, producer, and editor, won Best Short Film at the 74th Berlinale Generation Kplus competition.

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Director Statement

Working outside, or going back home? Keeping the dog, or selling it? Being a poet, or a drug dealer? To practice Buddhist rules, or start a business? In a money-oriented society, people often get lost in front of money, thus forget their dreams and fail to get inner peace.
 
THE DOG was inspired by a few news events happened in early 2014, such as “cracking down drug trafficking in LuFeng”, “monk marriage”, etc. Things like this could have been really good materials for “storytelling”, but I didn’t deal with them this way — story is frivolous to me, while sound and picture are the main characters of my film.
 
I was a nineteen-year-old film student when making THE DOG. My teachers were all teaching how to tell a story, how to set up lights, how to shoot people… Is this the only way to make films? I decide to figure it out by myself.