OUR STORY

Hi, we’re Sasha Higgins and Ethan Maniquis.

Ten years ago, Pharaoh’s owners left him at a boarding kennel and never came back. When we learned what had happened, we brought him home. Since then, we’ve fostered more than 15 dogs, including Mordy, who was placed on a shelter euthanasia list at four months old, and Melvin, who was found in a dumpster.

We’ve had dogs dumped on our doorstep, helped secure frightened strays, and ferried five dogs (and a pig) to safety during the Palisades Fire.

Rescuing animals is our passion. And we want to do more. Traditional rescue appeals often reach people who already care deeply about the issue. We want to bring that story to a larger audience through entertainment. That's how MONGRELS THE MOVIE was born.

Drawing on those years of rescue work and firsthand experience with the realities facing stray and shelter dogs in Los Angeles.

MONGRELS is a comic rescue caper that follows a grieving pub waitress who steals eight dogs scheduled for euthanasia from an overcrowded county shelter. When the theft makes her a viral folk hero, she finds herself pursued by police, criminals and influencers—and dependent on a ragtag rescue network to save the dogs and rebuild her own life.

THE TEAM

The film will be directed by Ethan Maniquis, co-director of MACHETE and LIMONADA and editor of many others.

Sasha Higgins is an award-winning actress, writer and producer whose career spans leading film and television roles and performances on London’s West End, Off-Broadway and at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse.

Producer Noah Smith’s credits include TORMENTA, a Rita Moreno-narrated, Ethan Maniquis-directed documentary selected for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and HollyShorts. He brings more than seven years of experience producing award-winning humanitarian films for Direct Relief.

WHAT YOUR CONTRIBUTION FUNDS

We have completed the 101-page screenplay and are now raising funds to finance 20 days of principal photography, animal coordination, locations, equipment and post-production.

MONGRELS is designed to reach a broader entertainment audience and convert that attention into adoption inquiries, foster applications and financial support for our partners.

We will do this by promoting our trailers and posts alongside adoptable animals and partnering with local rescues at screenings, releasing short profiles of dogs seeking homes, and organizing a benefit premiere and community screenings.

Our goal is to launch MONGRELS through festivals and event screenings, pursue broader distribution, and use every stage of the campaign to promote adoptable animals and raise support for our rescue partners. Whether the film reaches viewers in a theater, on a streaming platform or at a community screening, every presentation will include a direct adoption or donation call to action.

We will provide supporters with regular production updates from pre-production through the film’s completion and release.

Wherever possible, rescue dogs will appear in the film.

WHY THIS MATTERS

According to the ASPCA, approximately 320,000 dogs were euthanized in U.S. shelters in 2025.

We cannot save every dog at risk. But MONGRELS can introduce audiences to real animals who need homes, direct viewers to rescue organizations and generate measurable financial support for the people doing this work every day.

Your contribution will help us bring the film to the screen and build its rescue and adoption campaign into the project from the beginning.

Please give what you can. If you can’t contribute, sharing this campaign with someone who loves movies, animals or both can make a genuine difference.

Join our team, and let’s save some dogs, cats and perhaps a few pigs along the way.

In love and gratitude

Ethan and Sasha