From enabling people to occupy public spaces to easing anxieties around social interactions, animals help their humans navigate physical and emotional living. Buddy follows the inner workings of six canine and human pairs to reveal what’s really given and received.

Heddy Honigmann’s humanist documentary is a joyful and moving portrait of the bond between people and their service dogs. Moving beyond surface-level sentimentalism, Buddy unravels the emotional complexity of the relationships at its center by approaching its subjects with candor and curiosity.