By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 2/4/26 – As The Bulldogs prepares for its upcoming screenings at the Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles, the film’s co-directors, Noah Dixon and Ori Segev, joined The Hollywood Times for an in-depth Zoom conversation exploring the story behind their deeply human documentary.
From the outset, Dixon and Segev were clear that The Bulldogs is not a documentary about a train derailment itself, but about what happens after the cameras leave.
Dixon explained that when the environmental disaster occurred, it quickly became a major national story, especially in Ohio, but that attention was fleeting. “We kind of knew early on that this sort of thing unfortunately happens a lot,” he said. “The news cameras will cover the story, but after a couple of weeks they leave. We wanted to know what life looked like after that.”
Click below for our exclusive interview:
Rather than focusing on the immediate crisis, The Bulldogs follows residents of East Palestine over the course of an entire year, capturing moments that might otherwise seem ordinary: Friday night football games, Christmas concerts, mushroom hunting, haircuts, and casual conversations. Together, these rituals form a portrait of a town navigating uncertainty while holding onto its sense of identity.
Segev emphasized that this approach was intentional. “We wanted the audience to experience what it feels like to be there, not just be told what happened,” he said.
A major topic of discussion was how Dixon and Segev earned the trust of a community already overwhelmed by politicians, media coverage, and outside narratives. Their method was simple but time-consuming: show up, consistently.
“We were just there,” Dixon shared. “We ate at the diner, we went to football games, people saw us every other weekend. Over time, that matters.”
The filmmakers adopted an observational style, often spending time without filming at all. Segev noted that the camera was not always present, which allowed relationships to develop naturally. That patience paid off, opening doors to a wide range of voices across the town.
“If someone didn’t want to talk to us, they’d usually say, ‘Have you talked to this person?’” Segev recalled. “It was a really welcoming community.”
As the conversation deepened, Dixon and Segev reflected on the emotional impact of witnessing East Palestine’s sudden rise in national attention, followed by an equally sudden disappearance from the news cycle. Dixon noted that while the media whiplash was expected, the most difficult part was watching divisions emerge within a previously tight-knit community.
“Everyone was trying to figure out how to respond,” he said. “Whether that meant leaving, fighting, accepting it, or even looking at it with humor. There were so many different responses, and that was hard to witness, but also incredibly human.”
Those divisions, portrayed without judgment, give The Bulldogs its emotional weight. The film introduces viewers to a cross-section of residents, including a chiropractor turned activist, a retired pizza shop owner, and a former football star, figures who emerged organically through conversation rather than casting.
Segev shared one such moment, describing how they stumbled upon a pizza shop while driving through town. They struck up a conversation with the owner, who invited them inside before they even had a camera out. “That kind of openness kept happening,” he said. “We’d talk first and then realize there was a story worth returning to.”
Coming from backgrounds in narrative filmmaking, Dixon and Segev were mindful of creating a documentary that felt immersive rather than explanatory. This was their first feature-length documentary, and they wanted it to reflect their instincts as storytellers.
“We knew other stories were being told,” Dixon explained. “That didn’t feel like our voice. We wanted to let people live inside the rhythm of the town.”
By revisiting the same people and places across seasons, the film allows audiences to experience time passing, an approach that resists easy conclusions. Segev added that this structure makes it harder to label the town and move on. “You’re not just told what it’s like,” he said. “You’re there with them.”
After living with East Palestine’s story for a year, both filmmakers acknowledged that The Bulldogs changed how they view accountability, community, and documentary filmmaking itself. Segev described the project as a turning point. “We just went,” he said. “We showed up. You never know what kind of story that leads to.”
Dixon echoed that sentiment, noting the personal growth that came from listening to so many perspectives. “It reinforced how much nuance there is in every situation,” he said. “Hearing different viewpoints, that changes you.”
The Bulldogs will screen at the Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles on February 20 and February 22. Ticket information is available through Slamdance’s Eventive platform.
To learn more about the film, visit TheBulldogsFilm.com and follow Loose Films on Instagram for updates and behind-the-scenes content. The Hollywood Times will continue to promote the film across HollywoodTimes.net, AspiringMagazine.com, and The Hollywood Times Official YouTube channel.
