Art venue Summerhall is holding its first canine-friendly film festival in Edinburgh, UK this month.
The series features some of the best loved movies that prominently feature the UK’s favourite pets, from classics like The Wizard of Oz and 101 Dalmatians to more recent cult favourites like Christopher Guest’s Best in Show, to Wallace & Gromit in Aardman’s classic stop-motion shorts.
The family-friendly Dog Friendly Film Festival will be presented by CineHall and features on-stage tennis balls and bean bags.

The dog-friendly screenings include 1 dog per audience member max.
The festival’s schedule includes:
Wallace & Gromit – Friday, 6 March 2020
Homeward Bound – Saturday, 7 March 2020
Isle of Dogs – Friday, 13 March 2020
Best in Show – Saturday, 14 March 2020
101 Dalmatians – Friday, 20 March 2020
The Wizard of Oz – Saturday, 21 March 2020
Commentary
It’s such a treat to be able to take your dog to a dog friendly screening.
Dog friendly screenings are not a new innovation as UK-based cinema company Picturehouse regularly shows dog friendly films in their cinemas.
Rocky the Traveller once went to Duke of York’s Picturehouse in Brighton in 2017 to watch Isle of Dogs in a packed cinema. The screening was such a delight and filled with well-behaved dogs.

It was such a memorable event because the entire audience (dogs included) were quiet during the screening up until when tragic moment happens in the film and immediately thereafter one of the dogs in the audience howled, almost as a reaction to what had happened onscreen. The audience burst out laughing at this reaction and I will always remember it.
It’s so wonderful to have events such as this in which you can bring your companion with you.
If you love films as I do, then perhaps you get a little sad at the prospect of having to leave your dog at home while you go watch a long film or check out a film festival.
With events like Cinehall’s Dog Friendly Festival in Edinburgh, you can bring your dog along for the film and have your dog sit beside you and who knows, they might even react to it.


