Personal-Run US Cat Film Festival
'Cat Video Fest' Earns 386 Million KRW Revenue
August 8th is "World Cat Day." It was established by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to raise awareness about cats, promote the adoption of stray cats, and celebrate the birth of cats. In the United States, there is a film festival dedicated solely to cat videos. Called the "Cat Video Fest," it screens 73 minutes of content made from cat videos collected worldwide in over 100 theaters across the U.S. and Canada.
According to the American media outlet Variety, the "Cat Video Fest," which compiles and screens cat videos, has steadily grown over the past few years. This year’s festival, held from the 3rd to the 4th, generated $280,000 (386 million KRW) in revenue, double that of 2023. About $30,000 (41 million KRW) of this amount was donated to local animal shelters and animal welfare organizations.
The festival is independently operated by Will Braden, a graduate of the Seattle Film Institute. In an interview with Variety, Braden said, "My business card says 'person who watches cat videos,'" adding, "I spend all my time running this event." He mainly dedicates his time to collecting cat videos. Each year, he watches about 15,000 videos, narrows them down to around 200, and then obtains permission from the content creators. He also collaborates with distributors to write press releases.
What sets the "Cat Video Fest" apart from other film festivals is that short cat videos are played continuously for 73 minutes. No additional content or direction is inserted between the videos. Some videos are shown in their original vertical short-form format, filling the screen, complete with emojis and comments. High-definition and low-definition videos are mixed together. Variety described it as "a wholesome time capsule like early YouTube videos or grandmothers’ Facebook feeds." Braden said, "I know it has to be compelling enough to pull people out of bed and bring them to the theater."
Variety also pointed out that "it is an outdated mindset for U.S. Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance to criticize childless 'cat ladies' as ruining America," and noted that "spending time with cat lovers in theaters through the film festival was enjoyable."
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