Kedi

Seven cats are followed in Istanbul: one that waits outside a fishmonger's, one that works the tables of a coffeehouse, one hiding her kittens in an attic, and others who know everyone in the neighbourhood. Each has a name, a territory and people who look after it. The subject is not animal charm but a partnership with the city. The cats belong to nobody and nobody takes them home; in exchange, shopkeepers buy food, take them to the vet and put out boxes in winter. The film presents this as a relationship of care, and most of the people talking about cats end up describing their own lives. The form is at cat level: the camera is usually on the ground, moving through narrow passages and under pavements. Custom rigs were built to get those images. Ceyda Torun grew up in Istanbul and made the film out of the streets she remembered from childhood. It was produced independently with a small crew and became an unexpected box office success in America, one of the most-watched documentaries there that year. Urban redevelopment sits behind it too: the old neighbourhoods the cats live in are being demolished, and that is what the film shows without saying. Who it is for: viewers who like Istanbul and animal documentaries. Who it is not for: anyone looking for structure; the film proceeds in episodes and builds no plot.