Movie Director's Crusade to Save Animals

A gritty, new film that depicts the plight of homeless and abandoned animals. Rough cuts of this film have already been shown throughout Asia.

VENICE, Calif--August, 2003--Judy Crozier, director of the film FREE to a Good Home," began rescuing animals at the age of nine in her hometown of Lyndhurst, Ohio.

I was home in bed, sick with the flu, when suddenly I heard this wail. I didnt want to get up but again I heard that cry. In the middle of the snow outside, I found a white cat. Hed been in a fight and was staggering. His cries had been so strange because he couldnt hear a thing--he was completely deaf.

Like many other animals in the United States, the cat Crozier found had been abandoned. Each year, millions of former pets are left to fend for themselves, living in the shadows of the city streets. Some of these strays will find their way to shelters. Due to limited resources, however, between five and eight million healthy, abandoned animals are destroyed annually.

Crozier rescued stray dogs and cats while attending college in Wyoming, often living with seven animals at once. But when she moved to Los Angeles to attend graduate school at the University of Southern California, the extent of the stray problem really hit home. Says the director, In Wyoming, 80 percent of abandoned animals find homes; in LA, 80 percent of abandoned animals are destroyed."

After graduating from the University of Southern California and serving her apprenticeship, Crozier wrote and directed the movie, FREE to a Good Home."

Her film follows a young girl who travels from Wyoming to Los Angeles, trying to save every abandoned animal she encounters. Although the story has been fictionalized, it was shot in shelters with Crozier drawing heavily from her own experiences.

Actors, producers, and many others donated their time to make the film. Still the director had to raise additional money herself by moonlighting and working odd jobs. At this point she estimates that she needs $50,000 in funds or donated time to complete the editing and the sound mixing.

We would love to speak with musicians, sound editors, and studio managers who would be willing to donate their time or resources," says Crozier.

Segments from the movies rough cut have been shown on television in Asia and have been used in the United States to help pass legislation to alter the taste of anti-freeze. (FREE to a Good Home" includes one scene that shows puppies who have been poisoned by the sweet-tasting liquid.)

In the future the director plans to set up a non-profit foundation to help support rescue groups. The movie is designed to educate people about the problem of abandoned animals. I intend the foundation to continue that work," says Crozier.

More information about FREE to a Good Home" can be found at www.freetoagoodhomemovie.com.

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