Story: La Feline Film Festival

Cats + Video + Internet = <3

We love our cats, don’t we?

We love to take pictures of them.

We love to film them.

We love to post our photos and videos.

And we love to watch them. And share them.

LA Feline Film Festival

Cat film festivals are as plentiful as kitty litter bits on my bathroom floor. And, like the cats that inspire the films, the increased visibility only makes them more popular.

It’s no surprise that a town synonymous with film would play host to such a festival. Thus, on September 21, thousands of people will gather at Exposition Park in Los Angeles, California to attend the Los Angeles Feline Film Festival.

Sponsored by planet-friendly pet products maker, Organikat, and the Walker Art Center of Minneapolis, the festival starts at 1:00. Visitors can participate in cat-themed activities and events all day; there will be a cat costume contest, exhibits and vendors, food trucks, live music, and beer. The highlight will be the films themselves–a compilation of the web’s most-watched cat videos shown on an 80-foot outdoor screen.

LA Feline Film Festival takes place September 21.

C’mon, you can read backwards. (Photo credit: LA Feline Film Festival.)

Lil Bub, Tara and other kitty celebrities will be there

What’s an event in LA without some celebrity sizzle? In this case, it’s A-listers of the feline purr-suasion: celebrity cats Lil Bub and Tara the Hero Cat. Lil Bub, along with her human Mike Bridavsk will be on hand–er, paw–to meet fans and to raise awareness for animals in need. Tara became the darling of the interwebs through a viral video of her defending a young boy from a dog attack; she (and her people) will also be there to greet and inspire fans.

Lil Bub will be at the LA Feline Film Festival

Yes, Lil Bub will be at the LA Feline Film Festival. Beware the paw-parazzi! Maybe you’ll get a pawtograph! (Photo credit: LA Feline Film Festival.)

Why a film festival just for cats?

But why cats? Why a film festival dedicated just to feline videos? Erik DeLeo, founder of Organikat, a sponsor of the event, has a theory: “While there are lots of super-affectionate cats, many are very independent. The Internet videos and pictures on the Internet allow people to feel intimate with cats. To get close to them. It’s almost like, through the Internet, cats give people permission to be part of their lives. Plus,” he says, “cats are cool and who wouldn’t want to watch a bunch of cat videos anyway?”

Help cats in need

If your home or heart has a cat-shaped hole that needs to be filled, pet rescue group Milo’s Sanctuary will have some of their adoptable kitties available at the festival. While we don’t recommend getting pets as on impulse–taking care of another soul is a lifelong decision–if you have been looking for that special cat, he or she may be waiting for you. Even if you don’t adopt, you’ll be helping cats in need, as a portion of the proceeds will go support NKLA, Stray Cat Alliance, Kitty Bungalow, Fix Nation and Milo’s Sanctuary.

Attendees are encouraged to dress up in their favorite feline-inspired attire, and pet cats are welcome as long as they are comfortable with crowds and on a leash or in a carrier.  DeLeo’s two cats, Maine Coon/Tabby mixes Marco and Barnabas will be most comfortable staying home. The event, he says, “is a celebration of cats, and the Internet may be the best thing that has happened to cats since the Egyptians.”

Attendees from a previous LA Feline Film Festival

Wear your finest cat gear to get into the mood. (Photo credit: LA Feline Film Festival.)

 


More information about the LA Feline Film Festival:

  • Festival runs from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., September 21 at Christmas Tree Lane at Exposition Park in Los Angeles, CA.
  • Tickets start at $15, and are available online. Get them here.
  • Sponsors of the LA Feline Film Festival include Swheat Scoop, Natural Balance, Pussy and Pooch and Modern Cat Magazine.
  • The festival, which originated in Minneapolis in 2012–and is seen in various markets nationwide–is a project of the Walker Art Center, a nonprofit contemporary art center in Minneapolis, MN.

Win an LA Feline Film Festival Gift Pack

Win an LA Film Festival Gift Pack

A cat film festival is a good excuse for a giveaway!

To celebrate all things film and feline, we’re giving away a prize package. Here’s what you can win:

Enter now! Contest expires on September 15.

The winner is Missy Spencer!

Enter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Since film = art, we’re joining fellow cat lovers in the Feline Art Friday and the Caturday Art blog hops.CaturdayArt1BlogHopButton150x150_zpsbe54d2dc

Feline Art Friday



24 Comments on "Story: La Feline Film Festival"

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  1. Brian Frum says:

    That is an amazingly fun time!

  2. meowmeowmans says:

    I wish I still lived in L.A., because I would TOTALLY be there. 🙂

  3. Wow that looks like it is going to be a blast!

  4. Emma says:

    We just had that festival here in Minneapolis. I heard a lot of big names showed up and it is a super popular event.

  5. urdchan@gmail.com says:

    Gee, how can I pick just ONE internet kitty? I guess it would be a toss-up between Little Bub and Maru-chan. We need to get some video of my daughter’s kitten (who turns one next month). I bet he’d get a following with his crazyness.

  6. Marie says:

    That looks like such fun. Sadly, we live in the UK!

    Purrs xx
    Athena and Marie

  7. Ruby says:

    Wows, that is cool!!!! If I had a kitteh I would SO enter!!
    Good lucks everyone!!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

  8. Awww, how fun! The film festival is coming to Vermont next month but still a ways away from us so I’m not sure if I’m going to make it or not 🙁

  9. Sounds like a really fun time!!

  10. A pity that LA is on the other side of the world for me. Otherwise, I’d definitely attend this festival.

  11. Elisabeth Ashley says:

    My favorite internet kitty is Grumpy Cat.

  12. Jaclyn says:

    That looks like so much fun

  13. Arielle says:

    My favorite is Grumpy Cat, but my BF loves Keyboard Cat the best.

  14. julie says:

    Thank you for linking up to Feline Art Friday, hope to see you back soon:
    http://kittypartay.blogspot.com/2014/09/feline-art-friday-12.html

  15. Tracy Melhinch says:

    Little Bub…so cute!!!

  16. Lisa V. says:

    My favorite is Grumpy Cat.

  17. liz l says:

    Hello kitty- lol

  18. cassandra says:

    i love pancake the cat!

  19. Samii Meyer says:

    I have to admit that I love Grumpy Cay

  20. Dara Nix says:

    My favorite internet kitty is Tardar Sauce … aka Grumpy Cat! She is just TOO adorable!

  21. Kendra W. says:

    My favorite internet kitty is Maru!!!! Sooo cute, I could watch the videos forever! The box ones are the best 🙂

    https://www.youtube.com/user/mugumogu

  22. jules m. says:

    my favorite is henri 🙂 http://www.henrilechatnoir.com/

  23. Carolyn Daley says:

    I guess my favorite internet kitty is Grumpy Cat, but she cannot compete with my two furry babies.

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