Take 5 with ... "The Urban Herd"

Sonja Alsofi

As we gear up for the 10th anniversary Oxford Film Festival, we wanted to introduce you to the filmmakers and their films you will experience on Feb. 21-24, 2013. Meet Sonja Alsofi, director of "The Urban Herd."

#1: In 140 characters or less, describe your movie and why someone should see it.  
This is the story of how a small herd of goats in an inner city vacant lot brings joy and unity to a diverse community, and also leads to questions about the role of nature in the urban experience. It's for anyone who has ever walked past a wasted, decaying vacant lot and wondered about the possibilities.

#2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?
We learned that goats are incredibly curious about everything, especially about the taste of camera equipment. Also, they are really friendly. Every day they would come up to us and ask for pets and scratches, which made it a little challenging to film them without the crew being in every shot. Before we started filming, the story seemed like it was about the unusual urban circumstances of the goats' environment, but as we started interacting with the goats, and learning about their relationships with their human neighbors, we found that all the emotional connection the goats created was the real story.

#3: Tell us about you. What is your movie making background? 
I studied filmmaking at the Northwest Film Center. This is my first film outside of class projects.

#4: What's your dream distribution plan for the film?
I would love for this film to be shown before features in independent, community movie theaters.

#5: What does the future hold in store for your film and for you?
I am currently looking for another project that will inspire me as much as the goats did.