Kitty Cats & The Kedi Movie
Cats — tabbies, calicos, angoras, norwegian forest cats; ginger cats, grey cats, black cats, white cats, black and white cats — all kinds of cats, roam the city, free, without a human master. Some fend for themselves, scavenging from dumpsters, living in abandoned buildings, others are cared for by communities of people, pampered with the best cat food and given shelter for the cold months.
In Istanbul Cats have been a part of the city for thousands of years, and so, someone made a movie about it. The stories are memorable; sometimes scary, sometimes spiritual, but always very personal. Street cats are such a big part of the culture that when US president Barack Obama visited Istanbul, part of his tour included a stop at the Hagia Sophia to visit its famous cat. Cats are as integral to the identity of Istanbul as its monuments, the Bosporus, tea, raki and fish restaurants.
This film is, in many ways, a love letter to those cats and the city, both of which are changing in ways that are unpredictable.