Dog or Die
DIRECTOR(s): Eric Hamilton
​PROJECT TYPE: Narrative Short
GENRE: NA
COUNTRY: United States
RUN TIME: 00:13:37
CAST: NA
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Dog or Die is a visceral, emotionally charged short film told through powerful narration, stylized montage, and fragmented cinematic moments. The film traces the psychological and historical weight carried by a young Black man named Ethan — from the brutality of the slave ship to the unrelenting pressures of modern America.
As past and present collide, Ethan moves through a world shaped by generational trauma, coded survival, and unspoken rules. The narration guides us through inherited memory, identity, brotherhood, and the constant negotiation between dignity and danger.
Dog or Die is not just a story of one life — it is a meditation on survival in a nation where history is never past, and for some, existence itself feels like a daily ultimatum.
