A Night Watchman Has an Existential Crisis in WeTransfer's Animated Short Film 'The Brown Dog'

WeTransfer announces its latest film commission The Brown Dog, a short animated film executive produced by WeTransfer and Steve Buscemi, and voiced by the late Michael K. Williams (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire) in his last featured performance. 

Co-directed by award-winning documentarian Nadia Hallgren, the director of the Emmy nominated Michelle Obama documentary Becoming, and creative director Jamie-James Medina (The xx, FKA twigs, Sampha), The Brown Dog is their first work of fiction. 

Joining Hallgren and Medina is a world-class team of collaborators including animator Fons Schiedon (Mickey: The Story of a Mouse) and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tyshawn Sorey. 

The Brown Dog will make its New York premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival on Friday, June 14th, with subsequent showings on June 15th and 16th. Screening tickets are available now here. The film will make its world premiere at American Black Film Festival on June 12th, and its international premiere at Raindance Film Festival in London on June 25th. 

Rendered in a palette of saturated yellow and dead-of-night black, it is Mr. Williams's unforgettable cadence that drives The Brown Dog. He voices the main character 'NOBODY,' the night watchman for an upscale apartment complex, whose feelings of isolation spark an existential crisis. Cold and alone, NOBODY goes in search of a mysterious brown dog, taking us on a riveting tour of an unravelling mind at work. The film itself is a celebration of Mr. Williams and the deep truth he brought to every character he inhabited - only his voice could speak so quietly but profoundly to the experiences of those living on the margins of the American dream. 

Nadia Hallgren said, "As a documentary filmmaker, my work is connected to the natural world and how we, as people, fit into it. The fictional story of NOBODY is no different, exploring human themes of loneliness and class. The character asks you to feel something real - a point made even more prescient with the passing of Mr. Williams. In making The Brown Dog, we are reminded of the dignity and deep truth he brought to every character he inhabited.” 

Steve Buscemi said, "Michael K. Williams was one of the finest actors I've ever had the privilege of working with, and a caring and loving human being to boot. His unique talent is on full display in this haunting and memorable performance of NOBODY in The Brown Dog. I'm grateful to the filmmakers for inviting my producing partner Wren Arthur and I to be a part of this powerful and poignant film. Long live the memory of Michael K!"

WeTransfer, through its arts platform WePresent, has a history of commissioning short films that have played at prestigious film festivals and won awards. Their short film commission The Long Goodbye with Riz Ahmed, became the first brand film to win an Academy Award in 2022, in the Best Live Action Short Film category. Together with the filmmakers of The Brown Dog, WeTransfer acted as executive producers to bring the vision to life.