Cats and Dogs – a Symphony in Film

More than just cute cat videos and dog clips, here are seven of the most witty, thought-provoking, funny and touching films from this year, on the theme of dogs and cats, our relationship to them and their relationship to the world. But they are awfully cute, too.

Curator: Christoffer Ode

 

Screened:
MON 23/10, 19:00 REGINA
SAT 28/10, 17:00 REGINA

THE BATTLE FOR SWAN LAKE

Cats, a dog, and a fish head perform the classic ballet Swan Lake.

United States 2023 / 2:56 / Director: Joan Carol Gratz

I MEASURE MY LIFE IN DOGS

A visual essay about dogs, how they absorb and become pictures, and create democratic alternatives to monopoly capital’s cover story of freedom.

Canada 2023 / 12:00 / Director: Mike Hoolboom

NO ANIMAL

Time and again, the feature film places animal actors at the side of its human protagonists. Sometimes as loyal companions, sometimes as fierce opponents. However, its stagings do not only instrumentalise animals to release emotions, but also raise a fundamental question of our anthropocentric self-image: how to deal with the experience of the otherness of the animal.

Germany 2023 / 21:03 / Director: Christoph Girardet, Matthias Müller

THE WONDERFUL PAIN OF THE WILD BROOM

Gone in search of stray and abandoned Spanish greyhounds in Almería, the film deals with abandonment through a documentary, focusing on the introspection of emotions linked to this trauma. Inspired by Leopardi’s poem about resilience, human and canine feelings are brought together in the experience of being abandoned by someone.

Switzerland 2023 / 22:00 / Director: Olivia Calcaterra

DELIGHT AT ROBERT ST.

Tens of thousands of homeless cats live next to people in Toronto. The filmmaker and Buddy the cat shared a territory for a few months.

Finland 2023 / 9:40 / Director: Milja Viita

DEDE IS DEAD

The death of a beloved pet is a difficult thing to deal with. Even though we try to prepare for it, it always seems too soon. This is a story of a boy and his dog, Dede, who passes away suddenly and leaves the boy alone with his grief. In the end, he finds out that just because Dede is dead it does not mean that she is completely gone.

Czech Republic 2023 / 8:24 / Director: Philippe Kastner

KLARA AND VASSI: ONE KILOMETER AT A TIME

On the outskirts of Kiruna lives the young dog musher Klara Fjellborg. She travels through the arctic landscapes of northern Sweden in a magical journey about a human, her dogs and nature.

Sweden 2023 / 10:05 / Director: William Pääjärvi, Matilda Lundberg

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