Man's Best Friend (2012)

In Romania, up to two million stray dogs stalk the streets, apartment blocks, five-star hotels, hospitals, car parks of multinationals and grounds of Parliament. In the capital, Bucharest, a dog bites a citizen every 30 minutes and fatalities are common. It is 2011 and Romania is preparing a law allowing councils to kill the dogs, but there is passionate resistance. 'Man's Best Friend' is a raw, vivid and deep investigation into the love-hate relationship between Romanians and strays, using interviews with leading experts, secret footage and graphic images of animal capture and abuse. Objective and non-intrusive, this documentary reveals how the stray dog crisis is a symptom of a new EU nation's struggle to find an identity two decades after its brutal Communist dictatorship.