PARSIPPANY — Parsippany resident Bruce Frigeri has produced a reality series about an animal rescue shelter that will premiere on National Geographic Wild on June 6. Give Me Shelter is a 13 x 30 series about life at a rescue shelter in Charleston, South Carolina.
Frigeri became involved with the project after his previous series, produced with partner Jessie Anderson-Berens, was well received by the international tv market. “It was more than a little ironic that our series, Rescue Vet, was being appreciated by international audiences but we couldn’t get it on the air here in the States, even though we are American,” said Frigeri. When the producing team decided to explore the possibility of a follow up show about rescue shelters, things took off very quickly. “What we discovered is that animal welfare is always exciting, ever changing, and always dramatic. Then when you factor in that the people at these facilities do some of the most honorable, selfless work you will ever see, it just makes for fantastic tv.”
With Charleston resident Anderson-Berens as the point person, the producing team secured the cooperation of one of Charleston’s best known shelter facilities; Pet Helpers. Once that was done, the team set about producing the first two episodes, which Frigeri used to secure deals in over 112 countries, and eventually here in the USA on National Geographic Wild.
There was a personal angle for Frigeri as well. “We have two rescue dogs in our family and they have given us such love and stability through some very tough times and I just wanted to pay that back somehow. Producing this show is a small way to do that.”
Frigeri’s background was originally in independent film as a distributor and sometimes producer, with a horror film, Fear House, and a feature length documentary, Square Circle Dreams, as two of his credits. His distribution company, Lifesize Entertainment, had an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language film, Zus and Zo, back in 2004, as well as an Independent Spirit nominee, Oasis. in 2005. When the dvd market that most independent distributors relied on collapsed a few years ago, Frigeri transitioned his efforts towards television production. “It was actually a much smoother move than I ever imagined, even though I went kicking and screaming at first,” Frigeri admitted. But then he started to get to know the people working in animal welfare and he knew he made the right decision. “Hopefully Give Me Shelter will shine a positive light on the animal welfare crisis in our country and the people who give so much of themselves to try and help abandoned and suffering animals.” Episodes 1-4 will broadcast on June 6 from 7pm to 9pm on Nat Geo Wild, with two episodes a week thereafter starting at 8pm. Frigeri urged Morris County residents to support local shelters and rescues like Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter and Eleventh Hour Rescue. “Every dollar we give makes a huge difference,” he added.
