The Austin Premiere of Short Film Works by William Wegman

Grainy video footage. Two nearly identical dogs sit poised, attentive. They look up. Then left. Right. Suddenly it becomes obvious that their focus follows an object of desire, held off-camera. Their movements are identical, down to the subtle twitches of their brows. And then they break. One looks left. The other right. Synchronism becomes a mirror image. The mood relaxes, and we are shown, inches from the camera lens, a fuzzy tennis ball. The entire work lasts a mere 2½ minutes, and the effect is at once disorienting and very funny. The film, "Dog Duet," was made in 1975 by the artist William Wegman. And the short, along with dozens of others, is screening as a part of the Austin Premiere of Short Film Works by William Wegman, a fundraiser benefiting EmanciPet, an Austin-based nonprofit attempting to eliminate pet overpopulation and euthanasia by providing low- or no-cost spay/neuter services.

Wegman didn't make art with his dog because it was sweet. Instead, his dog became a partner in the work, collaborating on the strangely funny films. Austin Film Festival program director and event curator Kelly Williams: "I saw a lot of these films in college, and I remember thinking, those are much more than just cute pictures of dogs. They're very funny. I love the way he lets things play out and how he works with what's around him. If it happens to be a dog, it's a dog or a drill or whatever." Says EmanciPet Executive Director Amy Mills: "We're trying to start a conversation about our relationship with animals and how we're responsible for them, but they also contribute a lot to our lives. That's the kind of conversation Wegman's work starts."

And as EmanciPet brings Wegman's quirky sensibility to Austin for the first time, they introduce themselves to the community. "It's our coming-out party," Mills says. But while EmanciPet has quietly been fighting the good fight, their efforts have shown results. In 2006, they performed close to 17,000 surgeries, and their goal for this year is to do more than 18,000. Meanwhile, the Town Lake Animal Center euthanized more than 11,500 animals last year alone. But the news isn't all dire. From 2005 and 2006, the intake rate at Town Lake went down for the first time in years. "That's a sign to us that preventative efforts like spay/neuter are working," Mills says.

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Thursday, Sept. 6, 7pm

The Design Center of Austin

Admission: www.emancipet.org/williamwegman