THE FRIEND had its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. Novelist and creative writing teacher Iris finds her comfortable, solitary New York life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor commits suicide and bequeaths his beloved Great Dane to her. The regal yet intractable beast, named Apollo, immediately creates problems for Iris. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding to the animal, she begins to come to terms with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.