PawChamp Partners with the RESCUE Documentary Premiering at Raindance

The Ukrainian–American film about wartime animal rescue debuts at the 34th Raindance Film Festival with a Best Documentary Feature nomination

June 2026 — PawChamp announced its partnership with RESCUE, a Ukrainian–American documentary about the people rescuing animals from the war in Ukraine. Directed by Alessio Schiazza, with actress and producer Sadie Frost as executive producer, the RESCUE documentary held its world premiere at the 34th Raindance Film Festival in London on June 25–26, 2026, where it was nominated for Best Documentary Feature. PawChamp supported the premiere and joined the film's press board at the screening.

Key Takeaways

• PawChamp has partnered with RESCUE, a Ukrainian–American documentary directed by Alessio Schiazza and executive produced by Sadie Frost, about wartime animal rescue in Ukraine.
• The film held its world premiere at the 34th Raindance Film Festival in London on June 25–26, 2026, where it received a Best Documentary Feature nomination.
• PawChamp supported the premiere and joined the film's press board, extending its existing mission of supporting rescued animals through its app.
• Since October 2025, PawChamp has offered its 21-day training program free to every adopted dog, addressing the critical first weeks in a new home.
• An estimated 5.8 million dogs and cats entered shelters and rescues in the United States alone in 2024, underscoring the everyday scale of the need the partnership addresses.

RESCUE follows volunteers and rescuers working in the middle of a war zone — people who drive toward the danger everyone else is fleeing, because animals were left behind. Some films entertain; this one documents what ordinary people are capable of when no one else will go. The premiere at Raindance, the UK's largest independent film festival, placed the story in front of international press and industry, with the Best Documentary Feature nomination confirming its standing among the year's strongest documentary work.

For a Ukrainian–American production, the London world premiere also carried a second meaning: bringing the reality of wartime animal rescue to an audience far from the front line, through the people living it.

For PawChamp, the partnership is not a logo-on-a-poster arrangement — it extends work the company already does daily. RESCUE tells the story of animals given a second chance; since October 2025, PawChamp has offered its 21-day training program free to every adopted dog, supporting rescued animals through the fragile first weeks in a new home. The film shows the first part of the rescue journey. The app works on the second.

RESCUE is set in a war zone, but the need it depicts is universal and everyday. In the United States alone, an estimated 5.8 million dogs and cats entered shelters and rescues in 2024, most arriving as strays or surrendered by owners who could no longer keep them. Adoption numbers are genuinely improving year over year — yet shelters remain full, animals stay longer, and every adoption that lasts still matters twice: once for the dog adopted, once for the space it frees.

The free 21-day program PawChamp offers adopted dogs follows the real arc of those first weeks: settling in safely, working through the anxieties a difficult past leaves behind, and building the routines that turn a house into a permanent home.

Beyond the Raindance premiere, PawChamp and the RESCUE team are exploring further screenings and joint initiatives with animal welfare organizations — connecting the film's audience with practical ways to act on what it makes them feel, starting with adoption itself.

PawChamp is a dog training and care platform founded in 2022, with its mobile app for iOS and Android launched in January 2025. The app turns the expertise of certified trainers and behaviorists into personalized plans built on positive reinforcement, complemented by 24/7 expert chats and video courses. Since October 2025, PawChamp has offered its 21-day training program free to every adopted dog. PawChamp's recognitions include Product of the Day on Product Hunt, Best Pet Care Startup at the 2026 Pet and Animal Care Awards by Business Awards UK, and double Gold at the 2026 TITAN Innovation Awards. Learn more at paw-champ.com.