Walkies

Director Roe Moore’s short film Walkies, from Laura Thomas’s script, tells the story of Esther (Mariana Arôxa), who feels stuck in life. She lives alone, scrolls on her laptop, and a reminder on her phone constantly chimes, telling her to walk the dog. The weird thing is that she doesn’t have a dog. In fact, she looks out the window and sees people walking their dogs. With great fortitude, she musters the will to walk to the park, where she sees other dog owners with their pets.

While at the park, she spots a flyer for “My Cyber Companion.” She grabs it, and before you know it, she’s opening a large box containing a robotic dog she names Luno. Esther throws herself into the role of dog owner—testing the leash, going to the park, and throwing the ball—but when another dog steals the ball, Esther withdraws. Another woman tries to reassure her that everything will be OK, but the conversation grows awkward and short.

“…she’s opening a large box containing a robotic dog she names Luno.”

Moore says Walkies was inspired by her experiences with depression and anxiety in her twenties. She explores how focusing on small daily actions—like getting out for a walk—can matter, and how a robotic dog like Luno allows Esther to venture into the world in search of real moments of connection. For someone introverted like Esther, these are small yet massive steps toward dealing with anxiety head-on. Unlike the movies, change takes time, with incremental steps along the way.

As a filmmaker, Moore uses simple techniques to enhance her story. At the beginning, Esther’s world is cool in color, with desaturated blues that gradually brighten throughout her journey. She also uses wide-angle lenses to make the world around her feel larger than it actually is, and lonelier.

Mariana Arôxa nails it as Esther. This isn’t a transformation Esther can talk her way through with excessive dialogue. Her performance lives in facial expressions and body language—the tiny shifts that say everything.

In Walkies, Moore uses the short film medium to tell a personal story about depression and anxiety. When words are difficult to come by, everything gets said with the help of a robotic dog.