Now playing in movie theaters: 73 minutes of cat videos, for a good cause

The best of the internet’s cat videos came to the big screen earlier this month. CatVideoFest is a 73-minute, G-rated selection of all things feline—silly, cuddly, sentimental and comedic—that’s playing in more than 500 independent theaters in the U.S. and Canada. A portion of ticket proceeds benefits cat-focused charities, shelters and animal welfare organizations. Since 2019, it’s raised over $1 million. The videos are curated by Will Braden, the Seattle-based creator of the comedically existential shorts, Henri, le Chat Noir. His business cards read: “I watch cat videos.” And it’s not a joke or an exaggeration. Braden watches thousands of hours of internet videos to make the annual compilation. “I want to show how broad the idea of a cat video can be, so there’s animated things, music videos, little mini documentaries,” Braden said. “It isn’t all just what I call ‘America’s Funniest Home Cat Videos.’ It’s not all cats falling into a bathtub. That would get exhausting.” Now in its eighth year, CatVideoFest is bigger than ever, with a global presence that’s already extended to the UK and Denmark, and, for the first time, to France, Spain, Japan and Brazil. Last year, the screenings made over $1 million at the box office. In the early days, it was a bit of a process trying to convince independent movie theaters to program CatVideoFest. But Braden and indie distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories have found that one year is all it takes to get past that hurdle. “Everywhere that does it wants to do it again,” Braden said. Current theatrical partners include Alamo Drafthouse, IFC Center, Nitehawk, Vidiots, Laemmle and Music Box. The screenings attract all varieties of audiences, from kids and cat ladies to hipsters and grandparents and everyone in between. “It’s one of the only things, maybe besides a Pixar movie or Taylor Swift concert, that just appeals to everybody,” Braden said. And the plan is to keep going. This article was provided by The Associated Press.