OFFICIAL SELECTION “KING TOMMY” WRITTEN BY MONIQUE GOLDA NERMAN (ITALY)

BIO:

Monique Golda Nerman is an Italian/Swedish writer and artist.

She went to film school in Sweden, Italy and Los Angeles, worked in production on film sets and eventually moved to Asia and the Caribbean to work as an underwater camera operator and editor.

In New York she studied at the Art Students league; the feeling of breathing underwater is the inspiration of her art.

At the B’nai Jeshurun congregation she found a deep connection to the Ba’al Shem Tov and in Southern California Al-Anon inspired her to write the King Tommy book.

In a chapel in Cap Ferrat, South of France, she started writing the first draft.
King Tommy is the Indian dog who lived outside Monique’s house in Goa.
She rescued him from certain death and he ended up moving with her to America.
He is the first Indian dog to become a Therapy Dog in the USA and the UK.
Together they travel the world to advocate for better treatment of street dogs.
King Tommy is a TV celebrity in the UK, a Scruffts finalist and a Champion.

“KING TOMMY” (Alternative title “Godspeed”) WRITTEN BY MONIQUE GOLDA NERMAN (ITALY)

LOGLINE: (Genre: Adapted/Drama/Adventure)

In a poor neighbourhood in Goa, India, a dog is born with a special talent. Facing cruelty and witnessing his mother being beaten to death he will be saved by two women who make life changing choices in order to bring him to safety.

“Pay it Forward” goes “Slumdog Millionaire”

SYNOPSIS:

Lauren: An American 35 year old who drifts from place to place to avoid the loneliness and grief she carries inside of her.

Garati: A young wife, victim of domestic violence, dreaming of a better life for herself.

This globetrotting adventure takes us to places in our heart where we have to learn to say good bye to the past to give the future a chance.

Cultures and ideologies come together for a global rescue mission to get King Tommy to America.

Based on the real life story of King Tommy, the most decorated Indian street dog in the world and a Stellar Therapy Dog.

STORY OUTLINE:

After years of drifting and travelling from one party place to the other Lauren decides to clean up her act and deal with the pain she has been carrying inside of her. At a beach party the DJ plays a techno song with Indian beats. India is calling and it’s pointing right at her.

Goa, India. Garati, a young Indian woman abused by her husband, hears a noise under the porch of her rickety house. It’s a dog hiding with her puppy. She dotes on the dogs, hoping that someday things will get better. The puppy, born with striking gold coloured eyes, seems to be the only one to know how she feels and comforts her.

In a jealous fit the husband kills the dog mother and burns the puppy, chasing him away. Struggling with the decision to change her life around, Lauren embraces all things Goa: Yoga and spiritual awareness, but it will ultimately be the young dog with golden eyes living outside her house that will be able to get through to her.

After killing the dog, Garati’s husband gets kicked out of the neighbourhood. Garati decides that she will not live in fear and that she will be independent. Working hard on her porch, sewing, she still grieves the puppy, wondering if he is still alive and where he could be.

When Lauren has to leave Goa terrible anguish strikes her heart as the young dog runs behind her taxi. Is what she leaves behind all she really needs? The dog keeps running as Lauren is his home, she is his Garati.

With Lauren gone, the landlady chases the young dog away, leaving him to face starvation and wandering the streets all alone.

Lauren lands in Thailand feeling lost and lonely. Things are different now and she doesn’t want to go back to her old ways. She decides it’s time to go back home to California.

But she has to make to make a stop on the way. She needs to know that the young dog is OK before she says a definitive farewell to her years of drifting. She lands in Goa and spends hours looking for the young dog.

Ridden with guilt and ready to give up she finds him chained in a field covered in blood, lying in the mud ready to die. Holding him in her arms she realises that it’s with him that she belongs. He sees her as she is and he loves her. She is ready to let go of the past and give the future a chance.

Lauren leaves the dog with a friend so that she can prepare for his arrival in California. The friend loses the dog while getting his travel documents.

Garati is in on her porch working, when she sees the young dog finding his way to her house. She is overjoyed. Lauren’s friend finds the dog with Garati, shows her the travel documents for the dog. He is supposed to go to Lauren in America. Garati is confused; he is here now, with her. In a familiar way the dog trots happily around the house and then out on to the street but on the spot where his dog mother was killed he remembers the pain and the fear. He cries and shivers uncontrollably.

Garati takes her Ganesh necklace off and puts it around the dog’s neck, knowing that letting him go is to let go of their painful past. She holds him for a long time. To know what is best for someone else even if you are not a part of their life is the purest form of love.

A year later in California. In an adult day care facility for adults with autism a therapy session is about to start. Hesitant and worried, the patients take their place on the floor forming a circle. A dog with gold coloured eyes walks in to the circle and as he does so he looks at every single person in the ring. He then lies down and closes his eyes. Lauren joins the circle.

The therapist tells everyone to put their hand on the dog. They all do so in silence, except one girl who is terrified. The dog’s eyes are still closed but his ears are moving, tuning in to every single person. Lauren looks to other side of the room, where Garati is sitting quietly in her most beautiful sari, asking her to join the circle. She kneels down next to the terrified girl. Garati takes the girl’s hand and gently puts it on the dog. When she relaxes he sighs and looks at the girl. Lauren and Garati smile at each other and their beautiful Indian dog, King Tommy.

Writers note: This story is based on the pillars of the AlAnon steps and the Ba’al Shem Tov faith.