The New York Dog Film Festival
We spoke to Tracie Hotchner, founder and director of The New York Dog Film Festival, for our regular Spotlight series highlighting innovative film festivals and competitions.
When was the festival founded?
The festival launched on October 15, 2015 at Symphony Space in New York. It has since grown into its tenth and eleventh annual editions, with the tenth premiere held in NYC in October 2025 and the eleventh slated for October 2026. Each year the New York screening kicks off a national tour that carries the program to additional cities.
Do you have any plans for famous canine attendees?
Tracie Hotchner: In various cities the festival continues to welcome social media celebrity dogs when the venue and local schedule allow. The emphasis stays on creating an inclusive atmosphere that celebrates dogs on screen and in the audience alike.
Did you receive any support from grants or funds?
The philanthropic model remains in place, with ten percent of every ticket directed to local animal welfare organizations. A newer Service Dog Salute category sponsored by Purina Dog Chow adds cash prizes for films that highlight veterans whose lives have been transformed by PTSD service dogs.
How did you find your festival audience?
Tracie Hotchner: The Radio Pet Lady Network and the ongoing DOG TALK podcast continue to serve as primary outreach channels. Targeted digital marketing, partnerships with shelters, and screenings at established film festivals help reach new viewers each season.
Expansion to the NY Cat Film Festival
Tracie Hotchner now directs a parallel NY Cat Film Festival that follows the same model. Both programs premiere in New York each fall before touring nationally, giving cat lovers the same opportunity to experience crafted films rather than viral clips.
Service Dog Salute Category and Purina Sponsorship
The dedicated Service Dog Salute track spotlights short films about veterans and the PTSD service dogs that support them. Purina Dog Chow supplies cash prizes for the category, and the programming underscores the festival’s commitment to stories that combine canine companionship with real-world impact.
Approach to AI-Generated Films in Submissions
Hotchner has addressed the rise of AI-generated submissions in recent cycles. The festival continues to review work across animation, documentary, narrative, and experimental formats while maintaining standards that favor authentic storytelling and emotional depth over purely synthetic content.
Current National Tour and 2026 Screenings
The tenth annual event opened in New York in October 2025. The 2026 tour schedule includes New York, Madison Wisconsin, San Diego, and additional cities, with the eleventh annual New York premiere set for October 2026. The expansion reflects steady growth from the original single-city presentation to a multi-market platform.
Hotchner’s background in pet-focused radio and publishing keeps the festival grounded in genuine advocacy. The Radio Pet Lady Network and DOG TALK podcast supply ongoing conversation about animal welfare that feeds directly into festival programming and community partnerships. Submission guidelines remain consistent: films should run fifteen minutes or shorter, deliver emotional range or sharp humor, and avoid repetitive scenes that over-explain a single idea. The festival continues to prize work that respects audience intelligence and trusts viewers to absorb a point the first time it lands.
Early sponsorships from the Petco Foundation and Bayer K9 Advantix II have evolved into a broader roster that now includes Purina Dog Chow for the Service Dog Salute category. The core mission stays intact: showcase skilled films about dogs that move beyond online animal videos and instead present stories made with craft and intention. The addition of the cat festival demonstrates how the original concept travels across species while preserving the same curatorial standards. As the national tour lengthens, local rescues in each host city continue to benefit from ticket sales, reinforcing the philanthropic thread that has run through the event since its first screening.
