‘The Last Hillbilly’ Directors Pitch New Documentary Set in Bakersfield at Visions du Reel

variety.com:

Lise Pedersen The French duo behind “The Last Hillbilly,” which received a Special Mention in the First Appearance category at IDFA, have been pitching their new project at Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel. “A Dog’s Life” will follow the journey of six teenage girls from the juvenile detention center in Bakersfield as they embark on a rehabilitation program: for three months, the girls will attempt to mend their own lives by taking care of a rescued dog.

Diane Sara Bouzgarrou told Variety how she and partner Thomas Jenkoe were inspired to pick up where they had left off with their first feature collaboration. “We finished our last doc, ‘The Last Hillbilly,’ filming kids who were on the edge of teenagehood.

The wild fires in California were very much a concern for them so we felt our next film should start where that one had ended,” she said.

They focused on Bakersfield, a city ranked among the most polluted in the U.S., for several reasons. “It is a city that struggles with so many layers of violence: sociological, economical and ecological.