Cat Vids And Chill
Austin film buffs ditch their phones right meow to watch cat videos on the big screen
Peak cinema is: cats at home that don't have two brain cells to rub together.
Many of us know — for better or for worse — the feeling of getting stuck scrolling through cat videos. We're only only human. Who wouldn't want to spend their time basking in the glow of nature's most adorably unreasonable decision makers?
Those who wish to get lost in cat videos on a whole new level have a few purrfect opportunities between August 10 and 14, when the Austin Film Society (AFS) hosts CatVideoFest. Like the home video shows of yore, these 73 minutes of amateur feline filmography reels viewers in for chaos and cuteness curated for the big screen.
A portion of the screenings' proceeds will support the Austin Humane Society, a local no-kill shelter since 1952. Other shelters across the United States are benefitting from showings at their local theaters. Some Austin-area theaters — the Violet Crown and Flix Brewhouse — have already completed their screenings.
A dramatic trailer sets the tone for the video montage with a shockingly high-quality alien planetscape and vague nods to a vaporwave aesthetic. If these are hints beyond a means to drum up excitement, it seems that CatVideoFest will wrap the home videos in some indie film flair.
The AFS Cinema is an especially good place to see the fundraising film, since it always operates as a nonprofit. Its regular scheduling is equally nonconformist, but often with an edgier twist: Foreign films, minority stories, and very indie art pieces are part of the day-to-day at AFS Cinema. Every so often it goes more mainstream for popular contemporary directors breaking the mold, or old cult classics.
It's a little too late to get your cats on the silver screen this time around, but pets with star quality can hope to make it next year. Submissions are open at catvideofest.com. There are also wonderfully stylish art posters and T-shirts commemorating the 2019 debut that are still on sale via the same website.
Tickets for the four AFS screenings — at different times on August 10, 12, 13, and 14 — are available now at austinfilm.org.
