The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova (2018)

This is a remarkable Canadian black comedy that leans towards the themes of the international and the familial. Sarah and Aaron are related, but their live paths have diverged a long time ago. While still solving their personal problems, they have to work together to fulfill the last wish of their Jewish grandmother, who got into a concentration camp aged 15 and has miraculously survived the Holocaust. They have to somehow find the remains of her favorite childhood pet – a dog that could dance on her hind legs, but is long dead and is buried somewhere in Poland. This is a well-formed film that refuses to employ sentimentality just for show. Its director and screenwriter Zack Bernbaum not only shows the beauty of Eastern Europe to the Canadian audiences, but also demonstrates how contemporary challenges transform relationships inside families, yet do not change one of the main things – the responsibility before the elderly, to whom the heroes of the film owe their lives.