Pick of the Litter
Emmy award-winning filmmaker, Don Hardy, stops by to talk with Marcie and Lovey about his and Dana Nachman’s new film, Pick of the Litter. The film follows a litter of Guide Dogs for the Blind puppies on a two-year odyssey that spans from the moment they’re born until they begin their careers as guide dogs. Finally, the mysterious and magical true story of how a puppy becomes an assistance dog has been captured on film. Lovey and I can’t wait to see this movie!
BIO:
Don Hardy is an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist, and storyteller. Don’s new film, Pick of the Litter, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2018 and was purchased by IFC Films/Sundance Selects for theatrical distribution.
Currently, Don is in production on two new feature documentaries: A Band Called Failure about the influential 90’s rock band, Failure and Camp Penn which tells the story of the birth and growth of Sean Penn’s aid organization J/P HRO after a catastrophic earthquake shook Haiti in 2010.
Don’s film, Theory of Obscurity, about the legendary music and art collective known as The Residents, premiered at SXSW in 2015 and was released theatrically by Film Movement in April of 2016.
In addition to his extensive film work, Don also creates high-end brand films for a variety of companies and nonprofits. His work in this realm is as varied as his film work: From Olympic hopefuls to people struggling to survive in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Haiti, Don strives to connect viewers to stories through emotion and humanity. Clients like Adidas, Cisco, LinkedIn, J/P HRO, and Bay Area Music Project choose to work with Don because of his sensitive storytelling approach.
Over the years, he has won numerous awards for his films, photography, and editing including 6 regional Emmys, 3 Edward R. Murrow Awards, 7 Associated Press Awards, the prestigious San Francisco Bay Area Photographer of the Year Award and more than 15 National Press Photographer Association Awards.
Don’s film The Human Experiment was released in theaters by Area 23a and on VOD by FilmBuff in the spring of 2015. Narrated and executive produced by Oscar® winner Sean Penn, the film lifts the veil on the shocking reality that thousands of untested chemicals are in our everyday products, our homes and inside of us.
Don also served as Director of Photography on Batkid Begins, which premiered at Slamdance in early 2015. Batkid Begins was released by Warner Brothers/New Line Cinema in June 2015.
In 2011, Don’s film, Love Hate Love, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film won several film festival awards and had its US broadcast premiere on the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2012.
His first film, Witch Hunt, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008 and was broadcast on MSNBC.