Prince Ali (2020)

Final film can be found here: https://ecemsinaygoldsmiths.wordpress.com/prince-ali/ 

 

Trailer:

“Prince Ali” is a light-hearted interactive, performative documentary seemingly tackling the deteriorating relationship between me and my dog. Ali is a tiny Chihuahua with a strong sense of self and constant need for attention, who usually forgets he is a dog in the first place.

Ali is a Prince, he sits at the dinner table with us, he only eats human food, he has outfits specially made for him from my father’s jumpers, he has 4 different beds he chooses to sleep in at different times of the day, and he is completely in love with my mother. 

In contrast to their loving relationship, Ali seems to have grown to hate me while being in lockdown together; I assume is because he is jealous of my mum having another child. However, my mum likes to reflect her own anguish through him, claiming he’s angry because I moved country. 

The documentary revolves around trying to understand Ali’s aggression towards me, whilst revealing my relationship with my mum as this is the first time we are living together so closely since I have moved away for university. The central question will be “why does my dog hate me” whilst also answering questions such as my mum’s dedication to her job as a mother and how well she does it, how she gives so much love and attention to our dog as both of her children are now living elsewhere, and how she has adopted some of her mothering from her relationship with her own mother.