CatVideoFest 2024
IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
Nitehawk Cinema, 188 Prospect Park West
Saturday, August 3, and Sunday, August 4, 11:00 am
(Nitehawk bonus screenings August 10-11)
www.ifccenter.com
nitehawkcinema.com
www.catvideofest.com
“There have likely never been so many cats living on the streets of New York,” New York magazine declared in July. There have likely also never been so many cat videos living on the internet.
During times of strife, especially amid the tumult of social media, many of us seek solace in cat videos. There’s just something about the tricky little devils riding Roombas, squeezing into ridiculously tight spaces, sneaking up on us like ninjas, and jumping and climbing everywhere that soothes our souls. “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats,” polymath Albert Schweitzer said.
Cat fanciers can find refuge from the maelstrom at Oscilloscope Laboratories’ “CatVideoFest 2024,” screening August 3 and 4 at IFC Center and Nitehawk Cinema. The final selection of videos were chosen from more than fifteen thousand short films, divided into such sections as drama, music, animation, and action-adventure. “Everything that you’d possibly want to see a cat do you will see a cat do,” IFC general manager Harris Dew told WPIX earlier this week.
A portion of the proceeds from IFC ticket sales will go to Animal Haven, which has been rescuing cats and dogs and finding them forever homes since 1967; the Nitehawk screenings, which continue August 10 and 11, benefit Sean Casey Animal Shelter, which specializes in the most difficult medical cases.
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer, editor, and cat lover; you can follow him on Substack here.]