Our film critics on blockbusters, independents and everything in between. The Istanbul Cat Documentary Thatll Warm Your Heart. In times of distress, its only natural to turn to cute animals as a distraction. If an image of a basketful of baby golden retrievers can bring you a brief moment of joy, by all means, scroll towards sanity. Twitter accounts like Emergency. Puppy have gone viral for providing precisely this service, and now comes Kedi, a new documentary from first time feature director Ceyda Torun, which follows a group of Istanbul street cats. Its arrived just in time. Torun jokingly calls Kedi uplifting terrorism when we meet to chat about her charming feline flick. But the film is more than just a cute cat video blown up to feature length its a slice of life portrait of Istanbul, which is crawling with the creatures that have become the heartbeat of the citys daily rhythm. She profiles seven camera ready cats, all of whom have distinct personalities and nicknames the Hustler, the Lover, the Psycho, the Social Butterfly, the Hunter, the Gentleman, and the Player. A good director knows the importance of a good cast, and Toruns got one hell of an ensemble. Torun gets her camera low to the ground to stay eye level with her feline stars, but she also makes sure to give some screen time to the human citizens who take care of these strays, people who speak of their fish loving visitors as good friends and equals. Cats have always been highly regarded in Istanbul, and folklore says a cat once saved the Prophet Muhammad from a poisonous snake. Amnesty International Weighs In On Taimoor Razas Death Sentence From Facebook Post. Harvey Weinstein Sexual Assault Allegations Are Shocking, But What Happens Now IndieWires Movie Podcast Screen Talk Episode 168 We discuss the larger. Theres even a popular saying in Turkey that goes If youve killed a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God. Dont worry No cats die in this film. Theres something very feel good about Kedi, but Torun admits the films lack of conflict was hardly intentional. Initially the idea was to get every side of the story, she says. There are, of course, people who are openly anti cats, but they also happen to be people who are anti people. We had a really hard time trying to get people to talk to us if they didnt like cats. A Charlie Brown Valentine Online there. Its a point the movie drives home Loving cats may make you a lovelier person. For a film that feels like a response to troubled times, theres very little politics in the film no mention of terror attacks or Erdogan. The relationship between humans and cats is a very timeless relationship and it would be an injustice to the cats and to the people who love them to suggest otherwise, Torun says. Its bigger than the politics its bigger than small minded politicians in our lives that come and go. The film was shot the summer following the Gezi Park protests a series of rallies against the closing of a public park that evolved into massive demonstrations against government crackdowns on free speech and secularism and yet theyre only mentioned by one of the interview subjects, briefly. I didnt want to include anything pessimistic its not an activist film, Torun says. But it was a way to highlight our shared humanity, and an appreciation of an aspect of life that goes beyond language, beyond religion, beyond anything. Kedi is at its best when it show a connection that runs deeper than passing petting. In one section, a woman says that cats who move in a playful, feminine manner are like surrogates for female expression under traditional Turkish norms. Prophet-Muhammad-Movie-Film-Trailer1.png?fit=940%2C469&ssl=1' alt='Muhammad: The Last Prophet Movie Trailers' title='Muhammad: The Last Prophet Movie Trailers' />Although Turkey is still one of the most advanced in terms of womens rights, culturally, its still a little bit backwards, Torun says. If you do express your femininity, then youre seen as a loose woman. If you dont express your femininity, then youre seen as frigid. Whereas with cats, no one judges them. No one says, Oh, what a slut to a cat. You also see so many men in the film who tend to these cats, and have this opportunity to be affectionate with a feminine being without it being misinterpreted, she explains. Male female relationships in Turkey are stunted, and they can express these kinds of emotions in a healthy way you know, with other creatures like cats. Theres also a sense of camaraderie and community thats built from each neighborhood taking care of its cats together. In one scene, people chip in to pay a street cats vet fees, an act of instinctive generosity thats hard not to imagine seeping into interpersonal connections. Its a healthy reminder of the things that are worth holding onto. And yes, the cats are cute, too. Muhammad: The Last Prophet Movie Trailers' title='Muhammad: The Last Prophet Movie Trailers' />The Associated Press delivers indepth coverage on todays Big Story including top stories, international, politics, lifestyle, business, entertainment, and more. Plot and description. The video titled The Real Life of Muhammad, uploaded on July 1, 2012, has a running time of 1303 in 480p format. The video Muhammad Movie. In times of distress, its only natural to turn to cute animals as a distraction. If an image of a basketful of baby golden retrievers can bring you a brief moment.