From Grumpy Cat to Maru and Chief Mouser Larry at 10 Downing Street – cats have dominated the internet and provided countless hours of viral videos. And it’s easy to see why – they are little furballs of chaos, inciting the warm and fuzzies one minute before ambushing us with an extreme case of the zoomies the next.
This is where CatVideoFest comes in. This annual movie event by filmmaker Will Braden and US indie distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories collates the latest cat videos from around the world wide web for your convenience. From quirky behaviour that will baffle even the most astute feline behaviourists, to the Cat Olympics and failed capers, this movie is seventy three minutes of the most varied cat videos out there. There are even animated shorts, a documentary-style snippet and a whimsical, arty collage in this compendium.
On that note, audiences should adjust their expectations. As the movie pulls footage from different sources, the film canvas will vary from the tall portrait sizes of Instagram and Tiktok reels, to the wide landscapes of Youtube videos. Similarly, picture quality will differ from clip to clip.
That said, this does not take away from the pure enjoyment of watching those crazy feline antics. As a certified crazy cat lady, I commiserated with my fellow cat-owners while heartily laughing my head off, comforted by the knowledge that I am not the only one enslaved by my feline overlords. After watching the clip of an orange cat attempting to thwart his owner’s attempts to keep him enclosed, my husband and I looked at each other and felt immediately justified in semi-affectionately referring to one of our cats as the “ginger idiot”.
But do you know what’s better than watching funny cat videos? Watching them and knowing that you’re actually helping cats in need. Since its inception in 2019, CatVideoFest has raised more than a million USD in contributions to cats in need through partnerships with animal welfare organisations, charities and shelters around the world. Australian audiences will be pleased to know that proceeds from ticket sales in Western Australia will go towards various cat rescues across Australia, including Pet Rescue and Cat Haven.
So what are you waiting for? The kittehs are taking over the cinemas from 13th – 16th August. Find out where to catch them here.