If you've been to Istanbul then you may have noticed the many cats hanging out at historical sites such as the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. Turns out the Turkish capital is a veritable catopia, with cats having roamed freely in the city for thousands of years. Neither tame nor wild, the moggies eke out a living and adopt different homes as they please, and are an essential part of the city's character.
Documentary Kedi, which opens in cinemas on June 15, is a portrait of seven Istanbul cats and their human friends. So as to get as close to the pussies as possible the filmmakers created a variety of special cat cameras using drones and the like to follow the felines into dark alleys and other inaccessible places. Filmmakers Ceyda Torun and Charlie Wuppermann introduce us to cats known variously as the gentleman, the psycho, the hunter, the hustler, the lover, the player and the social butterfly.
The movie has had a lot of good press, with one outlet referring to it as "the Citizen Kane of cat documentaries". The film was a hit when it played in last year's Melbourne International Film Festival, and is now coming back for a limited season at ACMI, Cinema Nova, Classic Cinemas and Lido Cinemas.
