The NY Cat Film Festival

“Of all God’s creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.”  — Mark Twain

The 1st Annual NY Cat Film Festival™ is made up of two different programs of short films that honor the mysterious felines who have enchanted us for centuries. (Scroll down for descriptions of each film.)

Cats have their own unique and indescribable bond with people – even when living independently as community cats. This festival celebrates our relationships with kitty cats, while giving back to animal welfare groups that protect cats and elevate their status. For far too long, felines have been the “invisible” part of the human-animal bond and it’s time to shine the spotlight on these magnificent creatures and the humans devoted to them.

You can spend the day with us at the BCT on Sept 23rd. The NY Cat Film Festival will take place at 2pm and 3:30. At 5pm, the Three Identical Strangers will be shown and then at 7:30, RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg. All Day Passes are on sale at the box office (see below)

Single Admission Tickets: $10 in Advance / $15 Day of Show. Admission is free for children 10 and under.

All Day Passes: $20 in Advance / $25 Day of Show. You can purchase an All Day Pass here. The All Day Pass includes admission to both programs of short cat films along with Three Identical Strangers and RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

These are not goofy YouTube videos. The films in the NY Cat Film Festival have sophisticated ideas and subtle themes. They can be enjoyed by all members of the family but are intended for adult audiences.

PROGRAM #1 “NOBODY OWNS A CAT”  (60 minutes) 2pm  Buy Tickets

Pure Fluff (4:00) Sean Skelton’s documentary sketch of a professional cat groomer in New York City, who shows how to tackle this combative challenge.  Reunion (9:00) Megan Lohne’s tale of an animal psychic, who works his magic on grieving pet parents mourning their cat. Rescue (2:00) Filmmaker Lava Sheets’s self-portrait of the isolation and depression of a disabled woman, who realizes her devoted kitty, Apple Brown Betty, is consoling her. Jetty Cats (32:00) Sheila O’Rourke’s sweeping overview of cats throughout human history, looks at a long-surviving feral cat colony on a seaside jetty in Southern California and explores the debate about Trap-Neuter-Return as the best management for community cats. Winter Break (5:00) Rick Hamilton’s look at the thoughts of a school teacher who has only her cat for company during winter break. Amleto (2:00)  Jeff Malmberg’s visual “poem” to the morning ritual of a Tuscan cat. Mittens from Kittens (4:00) Kim Best’s documentary shows how one woman was inspired by the nuisance of cat hair into spinning and knitting it into useful items.

PROGRAM #2 “LITTLE WORKS OF ART” (61 minutes) 3:30 pm  Buy Tickets

Little Works of Art (13:00) Kim Best ‘s look at  Harold “Cat Man” Sims and his self-styled American Museum of the House Cat in Sylva, NC, which houses over 10,000 cat-related objects and honors cats as “little works of art.” Akamatsu the Cat (10:00) Ian Christopher Goodman’s documentary about life with a disabled kitty cat, Akamatsu, who was paralyzed but went on to live another 4 vibrant years with the use of a wheelchair. Portrait of a Cat Fighter (4:00) Graceann Dorse’s mockumentary gives a funny peek at an imagined New Jersey “cat fighting ring” run by little old ladies. Guardians of Recoleta (21:00) Blake & Adrienne Kuhre (who run their own non-profit cat rescue in Los Angeles) examine the community cats living in the iconic Buenos Aires Recoleta cemetery, and what became of some kitties removed by well-meaning American rescuers.   Gus the Cat (5:00) Lisa Donato’s quirky film about Gus, a man who seems to think he is a cat.  Scaredy, the Cat (8:00)  Markie Hancock’s heartwarming documentary about a very shy cat who was adopted at the tennis courts in NYC’s Riverside park but avoids everyone except for a few choice people whom she eagerly greets.