Actor-turned-filmmaker Embeth Davidtz (Schindler’s List) makes her directorial and screenwriting debut with this vivid adaptation of Alexandra Fuller’s memoir, set in the waning days of the Zimbabwean War for Independence in 1980 Rhodesia. Seen through the eyes of Bobo (an astonishing Lexi Venter), the film captures a childhood steeped in grief, denial, and inherited prejudice, as civil war looms just beyond the edges of her family’s tenant farm. Davidtz—who also delivers an unsparing turn as Bobo’s volatile mother—unpacks a crumbling way of life through lyrical, vignette-like storytelling and rich period detail. A moving personal story and a trenchant historical parable, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight illuminates how the end of an era is felt not in slogans, but in the intimate textures of everyday life.

Thrilling. Davidtz is a born, gifted filmmaker – a bold directorial debut. —David Canfield, Vanity Fair

“There’s truth in the foundation of this film, truth that only this filmmaker could provide.” – Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“Leaves a lasting mark.” – J. Don Birnam, AwardsWatch