Kedi

Not since Thomas O'Malley got that wanderlust in Disney's The Aristocats (1970) has the life of a street cat seemed so idyllic. Focusing on seven strays padding their beats in different districts of Istanbul, debuting director Ceyda Torun explores the remarkable rapport between people and animals in need of some reciprocal love and attention. There's no question that the impossibly photogenic Sari, Bengü, Deniz, Parçasi, Psikopat, Gamsiz and Duman are the stars of the show, as cinematographers Charlie Wuppermann and Alp Korfali do a remarkable job of capturing them scavenging, frolicking, feuding and snoozing. The low-level travelling shots are particularly effective. But Torun is also keen to capture the ambience and personality of her home town and deftly cuts between aerial views of the red-tiled rooftops, glimpses of Hagia Sophia and lingering shots of the sunlight glinting on the busy Bosphorus. Despite steering clear of politics and religion, she also highlights how rapidly the city is changing and alludes to the implications for these vibrant neighbourhoods and their human and feline populations.