Kedi (2016)

A profile of an ancient city and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.

Director:

Ceyda Torun

Stars:

Yaman Barlas, Sari, Arzu Göl

6 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yaman Barlas	...	Himself
Sari	...	Herself, a cat
Arzu Göl	...	Herself
Kemal Suncu	...	Himself
Bengü	...	Herself, a cat
Necati Özer	...	Himself
Hamdi Selami Karaci	...	Himself
Mine Sögüt	...	Herself
Teoman Toraman	...	Himself
Aslan Parcasi	...	Himself, a cat
Yilmaz Yildiz	...	Himself
Psikopat	...	Herself, a cat
Vecdi Kelav	...	Himself
Erdogan Amca	...	Himself
Elif Nursad Atalay	...	Herself

Storyline

In the city of Istanbul, there are more than just human inhabitants. There are also the stray domestic cats of the city who live free but have complicated relationships with the people themselves. This film follows a selection of individual cats as they live their own lives in Istanbul with their own distinctive personalities. However, with this vibrant population, is the reality of an ancient metropolis changing with the times that may have less of a place for them.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | fish | kitten | cat lady | painting | 

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Taglines:

A cat meowing at your feet, looking up at you, is life smiling at you...

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook official site

Country:

Turkey USA

Language:

Turkish

Release Date:

10 February 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gatos

Filming Locations:

Istanbul, Turkey

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$40,103, 12 February 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,834,262, 12 November 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Termite Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

On a couple of buildings, the graffito "ERDO GONE" can be seen. It's a protest message playing on the name of Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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Quotes

Unnamed Human Resident of Istanbul: Dogs think people are God, but cats don't. Cats are aware of God's existence. Cats know that people act as middlemen to God's will. They're not ungrateful, they just know better.

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Connections

References The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

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Soundtracks

Daydreams
Music by Kira Fontana
Performed by Kira Fontana feat. Sidney Hopson

User Reviews

Perfect film for all cat lovers out there!

if you love cats, and admire/respect people who love cats, you will love this film.

Kedi focuses on a half a dozen or so cats and their primary human caretakers. Each cat has their own very unique personality put on them by their caretakers. These individuals who take their of these people are very respectable, humble people. You will really admire how much these cats mean to them. They take on a very philosophical, down-to-earth, often religious approach to why they care for these stray cats. For most of these people, these cats have improved their lives and given them a better respect/appreciation towards life in general. It's very touching.

There are also many scenes of of the city, showing random stray cats going about their lives, the cinematography and camera-work showing of the city is really great. These are a few brief scenes where you don't see any cats at all, just the people of Istanbul going about their daily lives.

Does this film ever get depressing you may ask? Well, there is one sad scene in the film, but it is also one of those moments that you just have to accept as being a fact of life for these stray cats. There are also a couple scenes where you see swarms of cats waiting to be fed by their people, or scenes of litters of kittens living in dirty, clearly not ideal living conditions, and it makes you wish the city had some sort of TNR program to deal with the population of all these cats, but again, it's just one of those things you have to accept.

Kedi is a all around feel-good film. But it did make me wonder when it was all filmed, considering the political turmoil currently going on in Turkey. It made me wonder how the people shown in the film and their cats are doing, if their lives have been negatively affected by all the chaos. I would certainly hope that is not the case.

If you can still catch this film at your local theater that shows independent/art-house films, it is worth seeing for sure. Otherwise rent it or buy the DVD when it is released then.