27.01.26, 20:30, White Dog (1982)

When young actress Julie rescues an injured stray dog from certain death, it seems like the beginning of a classic Hollywood story. However, she does not know that the animal is a white dog, trained by a racist to attack only black people. The white shepherd, gentle and affectionate at home, returns after a night-time escape with blood on his fur. What follows is not an animal drama, but a moral nightmare in Technicolour.

Throughout his impressive career, Samuel Fuller was not shy about tackling difficult themes and cultural sensitivities. With White Dog, this enfant terrible of New Hollywood cinema barks at the very foundations of America itself. His film is both pulp and parable, in short: a melodrama that growls. Julie's quest for redemption for her dog (and who knows, perhaps for her country) culminates in a battle between instinct and ideology, fuelled by fear and ignorance. Years after its release, White Dog still bites just as deep. A frenzied, poignantly topical fable about how racism is taught, passed on and, perhaps, unlearned.

This screening will be introduced by avid film lover Tim Maerschand.