Stray

Director Elizabeth Lo's intimate documentary shows Istanbul from a four-pawed perspective: that of the city's stray dogs, which roam freely in their thousands due to a "no capture, no kill" policy. Through the animals' daily travels - predominantly those of Zeytin, a noble-faced, sandy-coloured street dog - we learn about the lives of the city's human locals, who open up in the company of their furry cohabitants. Lo avoids voiceover and plot, and instead conjures a narrative rhythm from her subjects' daily movements, keeping the camera low and close to their bodies as they trot, survey and sleep on the busy streets. This allows the dogs' loving acceptance of all they meet to set the film's compassionate tone, and presents a study of the human condition - with all its imperfections - from a new angle.