"It is said that cats are aware of God's existance. While dogs think people are God, cats just know better."
"Cats have lived in what is now Istanbul for thousands of years. They have seen empires rise and fall and the city shrink and grow. Though cared for by many, they live without a master. And whether adored, despised or overlooked, they are undeniably a part of everyone's life."
A 2016 documentary movie directed by Turkish-American film maker Ceyda Torun. It follows seven street cats, and the people caring for them, in Istanbul, Turkey. Ostensibly the movie is about cats, but the people interviewed about the cats provide a bigger picture: what starts as interviews about cats develops in them talking about their views on life, religion, history and society. As such, it is as much a movie about the (human) inhabitants of the city of Istanbul, as it is about cats.
The website of the movie is here
and the trailer can be seen here.
This movie provides examples of:
- Crazy Cat Lady: Remarkably downplayed for a movie that entirely is about people caring for cats: of all the people shown, the only person this Trope could even remotely apply to, is the lady who prepares 20 kg (40 pounds) of chicken each day to give to street cats, and who tells that caring for the cats has helped her deal with mental health issues. But she doesn't let any of the cats in her house, so isn't an Animal Hoarder.
- Kind Hearted Cat Lover: Basically everyone who is interviewed qualifies as this.
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: Sarı is a female cat—and a red/ginger cat, which most people think always is male. While that's true for the vast majority of reds, rare genetic variations can lead to a female cat being red. The people who knew Sarı must have had a big Your Tomcat Is Pregnant moment when they discovered her litter of kittens.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: "Psychopath" is the name of one of the cats, because she beats the crap out of other cats, not to mention dogs bigger than her. Humans do better not approach her either. She is characterized as the "neighborhood terrorist".
- No Name Given: The names of the people interviewed aren't given during the movie. Subverted for the cats, whose names aren't all given during the movie either, but who all are explicitly named in the trailer and the official website of the movie.
- Stray Animal Story: It's a documentary about the lives of stray and feral cats.
- Street Urchin: All of the cats shown live on the streets. Though the people shown provide the cats with food, pet them and otherwise show affection, and in some cases take them to a veterinarian if needed, the cats don't have a home. The closest thing any of them have to a home is a cardboard box with a towel given to a mother cat who has small kittens.
