* Director/writer: Thom Fitzgerald * Producers: Christopher Zimmer, William Ritchie, Ann Bernier, Bryan Hofbauer * Cinematographer: Thomas Harting

‘As one of my assistant directors put it,’ filmmaker Thom Fitzgerald recalls, ‘after the fall of communism the country of Romania became ‘exaggerated.’ The good people had to be very good to stay good. And the bad people became very bad.’

Fitzgerald has recently seen quite a lot of the former Eastern Bloc nation, and has come to know some of its more colorful citizenry. It was shortly after shooting a TV movie there that the Jersey-born, Nova Scotia-based director penned the story that became his latest film, The Wild Dogs. Fitzgerald stars as a porn filmmaker stricken by the hardships in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. It was executive produced by Christopher Zimmer and William Ritchie of Halifax’s imX communications, along with producer Ann Bernier and supervising producer Bryan Hofbauer.

‘The film is set in the middle of the catching and destroying of 200,000 stray dogs,’ he explains. ‘I was shocked and intrigued by how the lives of the many people there are just as difficult as it is for these dogs.’

Bernier and Fitzgerald recounted the film’s development and production in recent interviews.

Spring 2000: Christopher Zimmer, then-president of Halifax prodco imX, dreams up seats 3a & 3c – a series of five films to be shot on digital video. He pencils in the budget at $750,000 per film. A coproduction deal is struck with U.K.-based Axiom Films.

May 2000: CHUM Television commits $130,000 for each film.

Fall 2000: Telefilm Canada hands out $90,000 per film, followed by $150,000 from Blackwatch Releasing, which also secures all world and Canadian distribution. The Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation chips in $150,000. The rest comes from tax credits and licence fees from The Movie Network.

Janaury 2001: Zimmer brings Fitzgerald and Bernier together. Fitzgerald has just returned from shooting Wolf Girl for USA Networks in Bucharest and has been deeply moved by his ‘eye-opening’ five months in the hardscrabble city.

February 2001: Fitzgerald works on treatments, but his first three or four ideas don’t fit the tight budget.

March 2001: Bernier is called away on business for the Atlantic Film Festival. When she returns, Fitzgerald has hit the idea that will become The Wild Dogs and is writing a loose script, leaving ample room for improvisation.

April 2001: Blackwatch goes bankrupt, and the seats 3a & 3c series loses 20% of its funding. ‘We were in trouble because the first film, Dragonwheel, was set to start shooting and Wild Dogs was second,’ says Bernier. Zimmer and imX go looking for more backers.

May 2001: Mongrel Media steps in with $50,000 per film, and gets the Canadian distribution rights. imX adds $32,500 of its own money, followed by a private investment from board member William Ritchie.

June 2001: The script is done. Fitzgerald, Bernier and Hofbauer fly to Bucharest in search of a cast. Fitzgerald wants to rehire three locals who worked as extras on Wolf Girl – a legless 10-year-old boy, a midget and a backwards-legged gypsy.

But a recent police crackdown has driven out the city’s beggars. It takes a three-hour drive into the mountains to find Visinel Burcea, the gypsy, and many more hours of negotiation with his entire family before he joins the cast. ‘It was a fascinating process,’ says Fitzgerald.

Ten days later, the local cast is filled. Hofbauer starts location scouting and Fitzgerald and Bernier return to Canada for another two weeks of casting. David Hayman (The Tailor of Panama), Alberta Watson (Tart) and Rachel Blanchard (Road Trip) join. Thomas Harting (Fitzgerald’s Beefcake) is hired as DOP.

July to September 2001: The Wild Dogs shoots over five weeks in Bucharest. Fitzgerald has two camera crews on the go every day, trying to capture the city’s street and animal life. He shoots 66 hours of footage. ‘Although I must admit,’ he says, ‘some of it is just, like, 10 minutes of a dog licking his crotch.’ The shoot moves back to Canada for a final three days, shooting interiors in a plane.

October to November 2001: Post-production begins with editor Michael Weir (Beefcake).

December 2001: Fitzgerald leaves for 10 weeks to direct the feature The Event, starring Parker Posey and Don McKellar, in New York.

April 2002: Editing resumes, followed by sound and music mixing.

May 2002: A fine cut is submitted to TIFF.

June 2002: Axiom backs out of the series, complaining that it’s taking too long. The film is far enough along that production continues as usual.

July 2002: The final sound is mixed and the 95-minute film blown up to 35mm.

August 2002: U.K.-based Skyline Entertainment replaces Axiom as coproducer on the digital series.

September 2002: The Wild Dogs plays in Perspective Canada at TIFF, to be followed by an appearance at Cinefest in Sudbury.

February 2003: Mongrel plans to release The Wild Dogs across Canada.