'We the Animals' Q&A | Jeremiah Zagar & Raúl Castillo

Director Jeremiah Zagar and star Raúl Castillo discuss We the Animals at a special Patron evening screening at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Us three. Us brothers. Us kings, inseparable. Three boys tear through their childhood in the midst of their young parents’ volatile love that makes and unmakes the family many times over. While Manny and Joel grow into versions of their loving and unpredictable father (Raúl Castillo, Looking), Ma (Sheila Vand, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night) seeks to shelter her youngest, Jonah, in the cocoon of home. More sensitive and conscious than his older siblings, Jonah increasingly embraces an imagined world all his own.

With a screenplay by director Jeremiah Zagar (In a Dream, Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart) and Dan Kitrosser, We the Animals is a visceral coming-of-age story propelled by layered performances from its astounding cast—including three talented, young first-time actors—and stunning animated sequences that bring Jonah’s torn inner world to life. Drawing from his documentary background, Zagar creates an immersive portrait of working-class family life and brotherhood.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center is devoted to supporting the art and elevating the craft of cinema. The only branch of the world-renowned arts complex Lincoln Center to shine a light on the everlasting yet evolving importance of the moving image, this nonprofit organization was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international film. Via year-round programming and discussions; its annual New York Film Festival; and its publications, including Film Comment, the U.S.’s premier magazine about films and film culture, the Film Society endeavors to make the discussion and appreciation of cinema accessible to a broader audience, as well as to ensure that it will remain an essential art form for years to come.