Film and Media Screening Series: ‘We the Animals,’ with Jeremiah Zagar

Director Jeremiah Zagar.

The Film and Media Screening series will present We the Animals (2018) with director Jeremiah Zagar; he will participate in a Q&A after the film.

In We the Animals, three boys tear through their childhood in the midst of their young parents’ volatile love that makes and unmakes the family many times over. While Manny and Joel grow into versions of their loving and unpredictable father, Ma seeks to shelter her youngest, Jonah, in the cocoon of home. More sensitive and conscious than his older siblings, Jonah increasingly embraces an imagined world all his own.

With a screenplay by Dan Kitrosser and Jeremiah Zagar based on the celebrated Justin Torres novel, We the Animals is a visceral coming-of-age story propelled by layered performances from its astounding cast—including three talented, young, first-time actors—and stunning animated sequences that bring Jonah’s torn inner world to life. Drawing from his documentary background, director Jeremiah Zagar creates an immersive portrait of working-class family life and brotherhood.

Jeremiah Zagar
Zagar grew up in South Philly spending most afternoons in a dark movie theater or wandering the aisles of his local TLA video store. In 2008 he completed his first documentary, In a Dream, which screened theatrically across the U.S. and in film festivals around the world. It was broadcast on HBO, shortlisted for an Academy Award, and received two Emmy nominations, including Best Documentary.

His next feature-length documentary, Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart, premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO to much fanfare in 2014. His latest film, the feature-length narrative We The Animals, premiered at Sundance in 2018 and took home the NEXT Innovator Award. Other notable output includes the pilot episode for Showtime’s 7 Deadly Sins, and commercial work for GE Capital, Pedigree and New Balance. When he’s not working, Zagar spends his time swimming in New York City’s finest public pools.

The Film and Media Screening Series is supported by the Diversity Council, the Student-Faculty Corporation, the School of Liberal Arts, and the departments of Film, Media and Performing Arts, English and Communication Studies, and Modern Languages and Cultures.

All screenings are free and open to the public.