Heart of a Dog

“(A) philosophically astute, emotionally charged meditation on death, love, art and dogs.”—A.O. Scott, New York Times

Join us at the Gateway Film Center for this special presentation of a compelling new documentary by multimedia artist Laurie Anderson—her first feature film in nearly 30 years—and celebrate the Wex’s winter/spring season of film/video with a fantastic deal. All attendees to this one-night screening will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to select upcoming Wexner Center films at a discounted member rate—and receive free popcorn.

A meditation on mortality and the surveillance state, Anderson created Heart of a Dog following the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, and her beloved rat terrier Lolabelle. Anderson wrote, directed, coproduced, narrated, and scored the film, which also includes her drawings and animations as well as home movies from her childhood. Commissioned by the European TV network Arte, Heart of a Dog screened earlier this year at the Venice International Film Festival and was recently nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary.

Calling this new work from Anderson a “welcome return” after her last feature, the 1986 concert film Home of the Brave, a reviewer for the Los Angeles Times said of Heart of a Dog, “Fusing personal diary and memory-embroidered observation, it leaves space for big, knotty questions (Can one feel sad without being sad?) and small, joyful eccentricities (Lolabelle’s brief piano career).” Longtime Wex favorite Laurie Anderson last visited the center in October 2014 with the Kronos Quartet for a performance of their landmark collaboration Landfall, at the heart of the Wexner Center’s 25th Anniversary Season. (75 mins., DCP)