Safe Humane Chicago hosts screening of Stray

Safe Humane Chicago announced today a virtual fundraising screening event of Magnolia Pictures’ new, upcoming documentary Stray, directed by Independent Spirit Award-nominee filmmaker Elizabeth Lo.

The virtual screening event scheduled for March 5th-21st, 2021, will support the Safe Humane Chicago nonprofit organization, who will receive a portion of all ticket sales, and their continued efforts for humane animal treatment, education and advocacy.

In Stray a trio of canine outcasts roam the streets of Istanbul. Through their eyes and ears, audiences are shown an intimate portrait of the life of a city and its people. Following the screening, audiences will have access to an exclusive pre-recorded panel discussion of the film.

The film explores what it means to live as a being without status or security. As they search for food and shelter, Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society that allow us an unvarnished portrait of human life — and their own canine culture.

The film is a critical observation of human civilization through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing. Watch the trailer below:


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Elizabeth Lo

“I am deeply moved by the idea that the story of Zeytin – the street dog from Istanbul depicted in the film STRAY – will be used to bring awareness to the lives of rescue dogs in Chicago through this remarkable collaboration with Safe Humane Chicago,” said Elizabeth Lo, Director of Stray.

“We are thrilled to work with Magnolia Pictures to present this virtual screening of Stray and grateful to their generosity to support our organization’s continued mission for safe, humane communities and advocacy for at-risk and court case dogs,” said Safe Humane CEO Cynthia Bathurst. “There is no greater opportunity to create conversation surrounding animal welfare than through this engaging and important documentary, and we look forward to sharing this film with the Safe Humane community.”

Panelists will include Lo, Executive Director of Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Program Chris Green, Executive Director of Cinema St. Louis Cliff Froehlich, and CEO and Co-Founder of Safe Humane Cynthia Bathurst, and will be moderated by multiple Emmy-Award-winning television/radio personality Jeanne Sparrow.


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Tickets to watch the film are now available for pre-order. Upon purchasing a ticket, audiences will have seven days to start the film once available March 5th, and once audiences have started the film, will have 72 hours to complete their viewing.

Purchase tickets on Eventive through the Safe Humane Chicago website. The first 100 tickets sold for the event will be matched by an anonymous donor.

The film was previously screened at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, DOC NYC, and SFFilm Doc Stories.