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Logline

A dystopian family thriller. On his 14th birthday, a sensitive boy must hide his nine-pound mutt and convince his veterinarian father to defy a new federal order to euthanize every small dog in America — before the marshals come to take everything they love.

Synopsis

A Still, Small Paw opens the night a divided Congress narrowly passes the “Small Dog Solutions Act,” mandating the eradication of every dog under fifteen pounds. Fourteen-year-old Hank Half watches the chaos from his recliner, his scrappy little dog Peek curled beside him, as the government turns love into a liability.

Congressman Oment declares: “A country is never made great on trembling legs, nor lifted by whining, nor empowered by empathy — and never, ever on a leash!”

The nightmare becomes daily life: propaganda films at school, bounty cards slipped into children’s hands, and militarized “Alpha Defense” forces closing in.

Meanwhile, Hank is already struggling to understand who he is — his name, his body and gender, his grief for a lost mother — and the law makes his love for Peek not just dangerous, but criminal. He retreats into small, defiant acts of tenderness: protecting his dog, claiming a new name, carving out secret spaces where softness survives.

Running parallel is the story of Hank’s father, a small-town veterinarian and deeply decent man who believes in order and responsibility. Faced with an impossible mandate — euthanize small dogs or lose his license, his livelihood, his freedom — Hank Sr. chooses caution, telling himself compliance protects his family. But the system doesn’t reward restraint. Colleagues are arrested. Trucks haul dumpsters labeled for disposal. His quiet moral compromise begins to rot from the inside, as he realizes obedience won’t spare his son, nor the values he’s tried to pass down.

As surveillance intensifies and betrayal seeps into schools and homes, father and son are forced toward a reckoning. Hank’s stubborn, deeply human courage challenges his father to finally see what’s at stake — not just for Peek, but for the soul of their family.

Meet the Filmmakers

James Lantz — Writer/Director
James Lantz is an award-winning filmmaker and playwright whose three decades of work — Off-Broadway, nationally, and internationally — has always been activism-fueled. A former Appalachian high school teacher named Teacher of the Year, he has written, directed, and produced over 300 films for Fortune 500 companies. His festival-winning films include a Guardian-commissioned documentary short and A Juddering. His trans youth short Not Losing You surpassed 2 million views on YouTube and TikTok. He was arrested and convicted protesting an anti-LGBTQ Pennsylvania state senator whose legislation preceded five trans youth suicides in his own county. He is a cancer survivor.

Cara Feinberg — Producer
Cara Feinberg is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist based in the Boston area. Her independent documentaries — including Lockshop and Working Blind — have screened at film festivals nationwide. She co-produced Not Losing You, the trans youth short film created with James Lantz that surpassed 2 million views on YouTube and TikTok. Her print work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Harvard Magazine, and The American Prospect, and she has produced documentary television for NOVA, Discovery Science Channel, Travel Channel, and DreamWorks Animation. She specializes in science, psychology, and the law.

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Contact

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