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Bobbie and Jude are a young couple living in their broken-down car parked alongside Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. Their days are a continuous ritual of theft and scoring until they must confront the difficult truth of their relationship after one of them is hospitalized.


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About

Bobbie and Jude are a young couple living in their broken-down car parked alongside Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. Their days are a continuous ritual of theft and scoring until they must confront the difficult truth of their relationship after one of them is hospitalized.

David Dastmalchian - "Jude"

David studied acting at The Theatre School DePaul University. In Chicago, he received acclaim for lead roles in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie and Sam Shepard's Buried Child. His feature film debut was as the Joker's deranged henchman, Thomas Schiff, in Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT. His most recent film performance has gained critical attention, portraying the troubled Bob Taylor in Denis Villeneuve's PRISONERS. He will be seen next in Michel Franco’s Chronic opposite Tim Roth and Marvel Studio’s Ant-Man (director Peyton Reed). His TV appearances include Intruders (BBC), CSI:Cyber (CBS), Almost Human (Fox) and Ray Donovan (Showtime). As a writer, his short plays THAT'S WHAT THEY SAY and MYSELF OF MY STATE have been produced in Chicago (WNEP, Caffeine Theatre) and his short film, KEEN, was awarded Best Screenplay at the New York Independent Film Festival. David also received the Special Jury Prize for Courage in Storytelling at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival for ANIMALS.

Kim Shaw - "Bobbie"

Born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and raised in Miami and Longwood, Florida, Kim Shaw made her professional acting debut in the lead role of "Jenny Chambers" in the independent film, "Greetings From The Shore," opposite Paul Sorvino and Jay O. Sanders; she received critical acclaim for her performance and four Best Actress film festival awards. Other film credits include a featured role in "Sex And The City," and co-starring roles in "She's Out Of My League" and "Did You Hear About The Morgans?" In 2014, at the SXSW Film Festival, Kim starred opposite David Dastmalchian in the independent film, "Animals," receiving unanimous critical acclaim for her role as a young drug addict. Television credits include the Doug Liman produced 2012 series, "I Just Want My Pants Back,", for which Kim received outstanding reviews, touted as the show's "standout." She also appeared as the title character opposite Gary Cole in the WIGS/You Tube Channel all-star series, "Audrey," produced by Jon Avnet and Rodrigo Garcia. Other television credits include guest star and recurring roles on "The Good Wife," How I Met Your Mother," "NCIS," "Two And A Half Men," "Anger Management," "White Collar," and "Law & Order." Kim currently resides in Los Angeles.

John Hoogenakker - "Guy"

Originally from Charlotte, NC, John became an actor at an early age, appearing in a couple of shows at the local Children's Theatre, as well a handful of commercials. A two time state and district champ in Humorous Interpretation, a Debate event, John went on to attend The Theatre School at DePaul University, in Chicago. He has appeared in many of the city's illustrious houses including turns in shows at The Goodman, Writers' Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The Steppenwolf Garage and many others. In New York he recently appeared in the acclaimed remounting of The Iceman Cometh, alongside Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy. Some television credits include Boss (Starz), Chicago Fire, Mind Games and most recently Empire, and he has been in numerous films including Public Enemies, Flags of Our Fathers, At Any Price and A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas.

John Heard - "Albert"

John Heard is the quintessential “actor’s actor” on both stage and screen. His early screen successes include performances in “Cutter’s Way”, “Chilly Scenes of Winter”, and as Jack Kerouac in “Heart Beat”. From there, he built his career with starring roles in films such as “Big”, “The Pelican Brief”, “Beaches”, “Home Alone”, “Awakenings”, “ Deceived”, “In the Line of Fire”, “Pollock” and “The Great Debaters”. Currently, he can be seen in numerous films, including “Runner, Runner”, “Assault on Wall Street”, “Torn”, “Stealing Roses”, and the cult favorite, “Sharknado”. John has turned in many memorable performances on the small screen as well. He was nominated for a Cable ACE Award for Best Actor in a TV Movie for his 1987 performance in “Tender is the Night”, and his recent turn in the 1999 season of “The Sopranos” earned him an Emmy nomination for Guest Actor in a drama series. On the small screen, he can be found in recurring roles on “Prison Break”, “Southland”, “Entourage”, and “The Chicago Code”. Most recently he Guest Starred on “Modern Family”.

Collin Schiffli (Director)

Collin developed a passion for fine arts and storytelling at a young age. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film Directing from Columbia College Chicago and currently works as a director, editor and producer in Los Angeles. His film festival awards include wins at Artec Chicago Film Festival, Top Prize in Project XL, and his short films, SHORTCAKE and MERMAID, received distribution through IndieFix after premiering at Hollyshorts Film Festival. He collaborates closely with screenwriter/brother, Brandon Schiffli, and they operate www.schifflifilms.com together. Collin has also worked as a producer and production coordinator on such films as THE THING WITH SARAH, BETWEEN US, and SAVING LINCOLN.

David Dastmalchian (writer)

David studied acting at The Theatre School DePaul University. In Chicago, he received acclaim for lead roles in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie and Sam Shepard's Buried Child. His feature film debut was as the Joker's deranged henchman, Thomas Schiff, in Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT. His most recent film performance has gained critical attention, portraying the troubled Bob Taylor in Denis Villeneuve's PRISONERS. He will be seen next in Michel Franco’s Chronic opposite Tim Roth and Marvel Studio’s Ant-Man (director Peyton Reed). His TV appearances include Intruders (BBC), CSI:Cyber (CBS), Almost Human (Fox) and Ray Donovan (Showtime). As a writer, his short plays THAT'S WHAT THEY SAY and MYSELF OF MY STATE have been produced in Chicago (WNEP, Caffeine Theatre) and his short film, KEEN, was awarded Best Screenplay at the New York Independent Film Festival. David also received the Special Jury Prize for Courage in Storytelling at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival for ANIMALS.

Mary Pat Bentel (producer)

Mary Pat is currently in post on DRIVE SHE SAID, a comedy starring Jason Biggs, Ashley Tisdale and Janet Montgomery, as well as LOST IN AUSTIN, a dramedy starring Linda Cardellini, Craig Robinson and Kristen Schaal. Her last film, THE MIDNIGHT SWIM, which won the Breakthrough Audience Award at AFI last year, will be theatrically distributed by Candy Factory in June 2015. Prior to these films, Mary Pat produced GOODBYE WORLD, an apocalyptic comedy starring Adrian Grenier, Ben McKenzie, Kid Cudi, and Gaby Hoffmann, which Goldwyn Films and Phase 4 picked up for distribution out of LAFF in 2013. Mary Pat has had two films premiere at the Sundance Film Festival – UNA HORA POR FAVORA starring Wilmer Valderrama and Michaela Watkins, written and directed by Jill Soloway in 2012, and THE LIE starring Joshua Leonard and Jess Weixler in 2011, which Screen Media distributed theatrically.

Chris Smith (producer)

Chris is an accomplished filmmaker whose previous films include AMERICAN JOB (1996 Sundance Film Festival), AMERICAN MOVIE (1999, Grand Jury Prize - Sundance Film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics), HOME MOVIE (2001, Sundance Film Festival) THE YES MEN (2004, United Artists) and most recently, THE POOL (2008). THE POOL won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and was selected as one of the Top 25 Films of 2008 by the Museum of Modern Art.

Screenings

No Screenings at this time...

Press

  • “By letting the troubles creep in, Schiffli's accomplished first feature makes (their) conundrum both accessible and intimately unsettling at once.” - Eric Kohn, INDIEWIRE
  • “The details ring true and the performances are compelling in this indie drama. Dastmalchian and Shaw are thoroughly convincing both as vividly drawn, emotionally complex individuals...” - Joe Leydon, VARIETY
  • “Dastmalchian and Shaw are both dynamite, fusing into an instantaneous chemistry that's constantly alive.... Animals is a bold and assured debut from a fresh voice, that of Collin Schiffli,” - Matt Barone, COMPLEX MAGAZINE
  • “David Dastmalchian and Kim Shaw are terrific....” “A grippingly gritty and bleak film – and all the better for not puling its punches.” - Mark Adams, SCREEN DAILY
  • “Grimy and sad but not sensationalistic, the debut feature is like Drugstore Cowboy drained of its hipness and sex appeal...” - John DeFore, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
  • “A love story about two highly relatable, flawed characters struggling to make it work. You can’t help but root for them.” - Ashley Moreno, THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE
  • “...a character study that reminds me of the first time I saw Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy. And it could eventually herald the arrival of as important a talent.” - Brian Tallerico, FILM THREAT
  • “A lucid, psychologically complex depiction of a path to redemption.” - Nick McCarthy, SLANT MAGAZINE

Contact

For press inquiries, please contact:
Liz Lagno
Oscilloscope Laboratories
(212) 219-4029 Ext. 41
[email protected]

For all other inquiries, please contact:
[email protected]

A Letter from David Dastmalchian

The filmmakers thank you for your interest in addiction recovery and advocacy.

It is our goal for this film to spark conversations across the country with the hopes of positively influencing those immersed in the struggle - either with their own addiction or that of a friend or family member.

If you want to help, there are several ways to raise awareness of this film:

POSTERS/POST CARDS: Do you have a meeting hall, center or other place where you would be willing to put a poster or postcards? Let us know and we can send you materials to distribute.

ORGANIZE A GROUP OUTING TO A SCREENING: This is the best way that you can help us to raise awareness about the film and spark discussions post-screening about the film. Animals is currently set to open in many cities across the country on May 15th: LA, NY, ATL, Miami, Phoenix, Columbus (OH), Kansas City, Seattle, Detroit, Fort Wayne (IN) and more will be announced soon. Chicago opening is May 22nd. Here are some tips:

Creating a Facebook “Event” is an easy way to invite a large group: Simply click on “Events” at the top of your FB timeline or on the sidebar of your home page. Select the “Create New” button. Fill in the information and invite your local FB friends. Include a link to your local theater where Animals is playing so that guests can purchase tickets in advance.

If you don’t use Facebook or would like to create an event using email, Evite or other services, please feel free to request digital art from the film so we can email it to you.

Example of NYC opening e-flier:

If you live in a city that will NOT be playing the film, you can organize a viewing party at your home through Video On Demand. On May 15th, you will find all the links to the digital VOD outlets, as well as a listing of cable providers offering the film.

ANIMALS online:

If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. He’s the marketing guy at Oscilloscope Labs and will be happy to assist your outreach efforts.

If you or a loved one are struggle with addiction, there are resources and communities that can help.

While we do not advocate any particular brand or style of treatment, there are two sites that can benefit everyone:

STOP OVERDOSE

his is an AMAZING harm-reduction cause that is doing great work to keep addicts alive through education and outreach about Naloxone (which reverses the effects of overdose>.

Addicts, first responders, law enforcement, friends and family of using addicts are learning how to use Naloxone so that they can save an individual in the middle of an overdose.

SAMHSA

This site is a blanket resource for ALL of the most updated resources about where Addicts, their families and the community can go to get ALL the most up-to-date information in recovery, advocacy and hope.

We hope that together we can help spread awareness of addiction and recovery beyond what we could do alone.

THANK YOU,
Oscilloscope Labs & Team ANIMALS