Kedi ([ceˈdi], Turkish for “Cat”) is a 2016 Turkish documentary film directed by Ceyda Torun about the many stray cats that live in Istanbul.[3] It premiered at the !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival on 21 February 2016 before being given a North American theatrical release on 10 February 2017. It debuted on the YouTube Red streaming service on 10 May 2017.[4] It was released on DVD in the U.S. on 14 November 2017. The film received critical acclaim, and grossed over $5 million.[2] Time magazine listed it as one of its top ten films of 2017.According to Susan King of the Los Angeles Times, “Kedi opened Feb. 12 in New York City in just one theater and was the cat’s meow with critics, scoring 96% fresh on rottentomatoes.com, and proving to be catnip to movie audiences, charming its way to an impressive $40,000 opening weekend and more than $60,000 for the first week in release. The film opened Feb. 19 in Los Angeles and scooped up an additional $80,000 in seven locations.Kedi 2016 Full Movie
On Rotten Tomatoes, Kedi holds an approval rating of 98% based on 128 reviews, and an average rating of 7.8/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “Kedi is a cat fancier’s dream, but this thoughtful, beautifully filmed look at Istanbul’s street feline population offers absorbing viewing for filmgoers of any purr-suasion.”[9]
Joe Leydon wrote in Variety, “[Ceyda] Torun, a Turkish-born filmmaker now based in the United States, and cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann, her partner in the production company Termite Films, take their audience on a leisurely yet purposeful journey throughout Istanbul (where Torun was raised) to examine a local phenomenon dating back to the heyday of the Ottoman Empire: Thousands of cats roam freely virtually everywhere and anywhere, peacefully co-existing with humans who learned long ago not to assume they are the masters in this situation.”[6]
On NPR, John Powers wrote, “Kedi’s stars, of course, are cats, and the film glides around Istanbul’s back alleys, boho enclaves and rat-infested piers to show us the range of these characters…. As Torun’s nimble camera follows the cats doing their rounds – filching food, catching rats, scaring off interlopers – the film offers a glimpse of something richer and more poetic.