NON FICTION FILM
  • Home
  • News
  • Videos
  • Galleries
    • 2019 Tribeca Film Festival
    • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
    • 2019 SXSW Film Festival
    • SXSW 2018 Gallery
    • 2019 Sundance Film Festival
    • Outfest 2018 Photo Gallery
    • Outfest 2017
    • Sundance 2018 Photos
    • 2017 LA Film Festival
    • 2017 Cannes Film Festival
    • Tribeca Film Festival 2017
    • SXSW 2017 Gallery
    • 2017 Berlin Film Festival
    • Sundance 2017 Gallery
    • 2016 Los Angeles Film Festival
    • Cannes Film Festival 2016
    • SXSW 2016 Gallery
    • Berlinale 2016 Gallery
    • Sundance 2016 Gallery
  • Filmmaker Gallery
  • About
  • Contact

Cat people: 'Kedi' filmmakers share tales from making their worldwide box office hit

10/25/2017

Comments

 
Director Ceyda Torun on one feline who didn't make final cut: 'She looked a lot like Sylvester but in a very feminine and charming way'
Picture
"Kedi" director Ceyda Torun with a clowder of cats (yes, that's the word for a group of cats). If I'm not mistaken, within this bunch there is one cat dressed as a chicken. Photo from hurriyetdailynews.com
As I'm writing this my cat Brewster lounges nearby on his kitty couch. He's got one eye opened warily -- perhaps suspecting my thoughts have drifted to other felines -- namely those in the hit documentary Kedi.

On Tuesday night I ventured out of the house -- and temporarily away from Brewster's company -- for a private screening of Kedi in West Hollywood, with director Ceyda Torun and producer/cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann on hand. Afterwards they discussed their film, one of the most successful docs of 2017 with $2.8 million in revenue from North American theaters. 
​
My greatest pastime and occupation as a child was to hang out with these street cats.

--Kedi director Ceyda Torun on her experience as a youngster in Istanbul


Kedi takes a cat's eye view of the city of Istanbul, where felines and humans have intermingled for more than a thousand years. These cats numbering in the tens or hundreds of thousands don't have owners per se, but they appear to live comfortably, for the most part, with their fellow mammals. 
Picture
My cat Brewster on his kitty couch, possibly thinking dark thoughts about me. Wednesday, October 25, 2017. Photo by Matt Carey
Torun and Wuppermann told the audience they spent under three months filming in Istanbul -- a remarkably short period of time given how much evocative material they collected. With the help of an advance team of cat researchers they identified a cast of characters to follow, including Sari, Duman, Bengü, Gamsiz and Psikopat (the Turkish word for "psychopath"). 

These are the top quotes from the filmmakers at the Q&A.
​
I had the luxury of spending my childhood with so much time that I could actually follow a cat around for days. It gives you such a different perspective about life and about the animal that you're 'stalking.'

--Director Ceyda Torun, who grew up in Istanbul



My greatest pastime and occupation as a child was to hang out with these street cats. In March you'd hear them screaming on the rooftops mating and a few months later you'd hear the little meows in the bushes in the backyards of the apartment buildings and go kitten hunting and find them and try to take care of them.

--Director Ceyda Torun



I grew up with a dog so I needed some working on.

--Producer/cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann on gradually becoming a cat person



Picture
Sari, one of the stars of "Kedi." Courtesy Oscilloscope
Picture
Duman, one of the stars of "Kedi." Courtesy Oscilloscope
Picture
Aslan Parçasi, one of the stars of "Kedi." Courtesy Oscilloscope
Picture
Bengü, one of the stars of "Kedi." Courtesy Oscilloscope
Picture
Gamsiz. one of the stars of "Kedi." Courtesy Oscilloscope
Picture
Psikopat ("Psychopath"), one of the stars of "Kedi." Courtesy Oscilloscope

Istanbul is very crowded so [the cats] are really used to people. Los Angeles street cats, if you see them, they're really shy. They run away. These guys, they don't care.

​--
Producer/cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann


What I appreciate most about cats is that because we really haven't manipulated them too much -- and hopefully won't in the future -- they really are aware that we're monkeys.

--Ceyda Torun, director of Kedi, on cat attitudes toward humans


Picture
Director Ceyda Torun at a reception following a screening of "Kedi" in West Hollywood, Tuesday, October 24, 2017. Photo by Matt Carey

She was a black and white -- she looked a lot like Sylvester but in a very feminine and charming way. They all kind of embody different things when you get to know them. That's what I realized while making the film.

--Director Ceyda Torun on an Istanbul cat she especially loved (that didn't make the film's final cut)


Picture
Sylvester the Cat

A lot of people were a little bit shy about seeing themselves on screen. But in the end they were quite pleased with the praise they were getting.

--Director Ceyda Torun on the reaction of her human subjects upon seeing the film



We had the rule that if the cat would run away [that meant] it wouldn't give its consent, so we wouldn't continue filming.

--Producer/cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann


Picture
Producer/cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann at a reception following a screening of "Kedi" in West Hollywood, Tuesday, October 24, 2017. Photo by Matt Carey

It has very embarrassing behind-the-scenes stuff of Charlie and I dressed as cats. 

--Director Ceyda Torun on some of the extras that will appear on the Kedi DVD


In honor of International Cat Day, Kedi will return to screens this Sunday (October 29) in Hollywood, New York, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, Anchorage, Alaska and other cities (details here). It's available for streaming via the YouTube Red subscription service. The DVD will be released November 14.
Comments

    Author

    Matthew Carey is a documentary filmmaker and journalist. His work has appeared on Deadline.com, CNN, CNN.com, TheWrap.com, NBCNews.com and in Documentary magazine.

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • News
  • Videos
  • Galleries
    • 2019 Tribeca Film Festival
    • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
    • 2019 SXSW Film Festival
    • SXSW 2018 Gallery
    • 2019 Sundance Film Festival
    • Outfest 2018 Photo Gallery
    • Outfest 2017
    • Sundance 2018 Photos
    • 2017 LA Film Festival
    • 2017 Cannes Film Festival
    • Tribeca Film Festival 2017
    • SXSW 2017 Gallery
    • 2017 Berlin Film Festival
    • Sundance 2017 Gallery
    • 2016 Los Angeles Film Festival
    • Cannes Film Festival 2016
    • SXSW 2016 Gallery
    • Berlinale 2016 Gallery
    • Sundance 2016 Gallery
  • Filmmaker Gallery
  • About
  • Contact