How did the world come to know the crazy cat lady stigma? It could be due to that one character from The Simpsons. Or maybe it’s all the news outlets that did stories on ladies with crazy numbers of cats. Then again, maybe we’re all crazy cat ladies, but only a few of us realise it.
Whichever way you shave it, we all generate a direct image in our heads when we hear the words ‘Crazy Cat Lady’. She might even be your hero. And every hero needs an origin story.
Enter Catherine, writer-director Britt Raes’ short animated tale self-described as “the bittersweet life story of a young girl who grows up to be a crazy old cat lady.” The film soothes the eye with a lovely pastel visual style, subverted by Raes’ darkly comic stings and the glib way she portrays death and deadly affection.
Catherine‘s got lots of love around the world at various international film festivals, including New Zealand’s own Show Me Shorts back in 2017. It’s a clear crowdpleaser, too, scoring Audience Awards at Leeds and Portland IFFs. (SMS shared a batch of last year’s crowd faves, too.)
Check it out.
