Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (2024)

In her debut as both actress and director, Embeth Davidtz brings to life Alexandra Fuller’s memoir, depicting the final days of Rhodesia’s colonial rule through the experiences of a white farming family. As the 1980 election nears, which will lead to the establishment of Zimbabwe, the fragile peace between white landowners and the Black majority workers begins to crumble. Davidtz portrays Nicola Fuller, a mother who sleeps with a machine gun ready to defend against both “terrorists” and snakes, instilling in her daughter Bobo a belief that any African could be a threat. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight shifts with remarkable sensitivity from the bleak outlook of the white adults facing the end of their relative safety, to the enchantment seen through Bobo’s innocent perspective, and the determined long view of Sarah and Jacob, who work for the Fuller family while waiting to reclaim their stolen land.