I just learned that today, August 26th 2014, is National Dog Day! In lieu of bombarding you with videos of cute dogs eating cake, I thought this would be a perfect occasion to share some photos of the time we made dog biscuits for humans.   Last January, the Roxie Theater screened Mike Mills’ 2011 film Beginners as part of an event for SFMOMA’s Live Projects series.

As frequent SFMOMA collaborators, we set up a table at the front of the theatre to serve ticket holders New Orlean’s Iced Coffee and bags of dog treats to eat at specific points throughout the film. 

The audience, fully caffeinated and captivated as they listen to director Mike Mills in conversation with SFMOMA’s Gina Basso about the film and his recent commission for Project Los Altos.

In Beginners, Oliver (played by Ewan McGregor) inherits a Jack Russell, Arthur (played by Cosmo), from his father after he dies. For those who haven’t seen the film, Arthur has subtitles. This could be taken for him “talking,” but Mills suggests that the dog’s subtitles throughout the movie are “a way to externalize a character who was sometimes non-verbal.”  

While we are huge Mike Mills fans, nothing gets our attention like a cute dog and the delight at what ensues when that cute dog “talks”:  the sound of 150 bags of cookies rustling at various points throughout a film.