Will Braden: CatVideoFest director on the successful expansion of the event

The SPCA is riding the tail of a global cat film sensation.

CatVideoFest is a 75-minute compilation of small felines doing silly things.

It's reached our cinemas and a portion of money from screenings goes to the SPCA.

It was founded in the US and has benefited charities in North America and Europe - before making its way to Australia and New Zealand.

Director Will Braden says there's something special about the product.

"The charitable component just comes around because everyone want to see cat videos. We would be crazy if we didn't use it to raise some money for cats in need."

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks edb.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Okay, I'm going to line the moon a little bit
this out. We all love those cute cat videos on
social media, don't we. They're the light relief we need
while doom scrolling on our phones. Wow, you no longer
need your social media feed to get you a cute
cat hit. Cat Video Fest has compiled the best seventy
five minutes of cat videos for you, and the opening
weekend has been so popular the event has been extended

(00:35):
to run right across the country. Cat Video Fest director
Will Braden joins me, now, thanks for being with us.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
It's so wonderful to be here. I'm pouring soul loud.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Talk me through what Cat Video Fest is and how
it came about.

Speaker 4 (00:50):
Well, in twenty twelve, the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis
put on the first Internet Cat Video Festival. I didn't
know if anyone was going to show up. It turns
out about eleven thousand people showed up, and the video
that I made won the Golden Kitty Award there that year.
And then I just kind of slumped my clas it
and kept working with them more and more, and eventually
they moved on to other projects in twenty fifteen.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
So since twenty sixteen, it's been my full time.

Speaker 4 (01:14):
Job to watch twelve thousand plus cat videos every year
and pick all the best ones.

Speaker 3 (01:20):
So it's the best job in the world.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh my goodness. So how do you choose?

Speaker 4 (01:26):
Well, I mean, there has to be The biggest rule
is that there's got to be something compelling or funny
or informative or silly or whatever. But the other thing is,
I really want people to see how many different kinds
of things there are that could still be considered a
cat video. So there's animated things, there's music videos, there's
a little really short, like two minute mini documentary things

(01:47):
in there about rescue cats.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
There's not just the traditional.

Speaker 4 (01:51):
Cat video that you're imagining of a cat, you know,
falling into a bathtub or something. There's a lot of those,
and those are great, but they would be exhausting after
seventy five minutes. So I want it to feel really curated.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Okay, So it sounds a little bit more sophisticated than
what we would get on our social media.

Speaker 4 (02:06):
Your fate it is, although that's the first time that
anyone is referred to me as sophisticated.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
But yes, it is a curated experience.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
It's not just the algorithm ex using what happens to
be next when you're doom scrolling. It really is a
singular experience and it's new every year and it's g
rated and everything that Every show that we have benefits
local shelters. So there's really no reason not to go,
and that's why it's been successful. People can't say no, Well,

(02:37):
I mean, we all.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Need a bit of lighthearted relief, don't we.

Speaker 4 (02:41):
Yeah, I think this this this year especially, a lot
of people have grabbed me by the shoulders after shows
and said I needed that. I needed to not watch
the news and not one you know, just kind of
turn my brain off and have fun and do some
good at the same time. Everybody needs that, maybe now.

Speaker 3 (02:59):
More than ever.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
And as you mean, cand you're raising money for charity.
That's for animal charities.

Speaker 4 (03:05):
Yes, every show that we put on anywhere in the
world benefits a local shelter. In the United States, it's
much more spread out, and so really it it ends
up being a different shelter every city pretty much. In
New Zealand, because things are a little more coherent and
cohesive between the shelters. They all benefit the SPCA of

(03:26):
New Zealand, which does amazing work and has you know,
shelters all over the place.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
But it's part of the DNA of the festival.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
If you see an advertisement for us playing somewhere, you
can bet that a portion of the proceeds are going
to a shelter one way or another.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
This was only supposed to run for one weekend, but
due to demand you have extended that. Why is it
luminating with people so much? Why do you think it's
so populous?

Speaker 4 (03:48):
I think there's I mean, my short answer is people
that have dogs. You can take your dogs everywhere, but
there isn't like a take your cat to work day,
nor should there ever be. And so the internet became
kind of the virtual cat park. But that also meant
that it's kind of isolating in some ways that we
think of cat videos as like the singular, you know,

(04:10):
individual thing. So taking that experience offline and making it
a communal, joyous, you know, social event, there's something really
enticing about that. I think, maybe particularly now when so
many things now are streaming, or so many things you
can just see on your phone. We're kind of going
up of the direction. We're bringing it all out into

(04:30):
the world, and I think there's a lot of people
clamoring for that.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
As you mentioned, the started in North America. How widely
have you traveled to the video Festival?

Speaker 4 (04:40):
I mean, I think that this year will be our
biggest year ever in terms of different countries. I think
we'll be in about thirty different countries, twenty five or thirty,
and then over Europe and Southeast Asia, and course in Australia,
New Zealand and the US and Canada and Brazil.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
I mean pretty much everywhere.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
The benefit of cats is there's cats everywhere, So anywhere
there's cats, and anywhere there's some sort of a theater
you can.

Speaker 3 (05:04):
Show cavity of fests and it'll have some success. So
there really isn't a lot of limit to it.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Oh I love it, will Braden. Thank you very much
for your time this morning. Appreciate it, my pleasure.

Speaker 3 (05:13):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Screenings of Cat Video Fest continue this week. For local
session times, head to Cat Videofest dot com, or you
can also find more info at Flix dot co dot nz.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks A B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio