Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Friday 8 december 2017
Dogs and cats living together!

Not quite at joint film fest

By LEANNE ITALIE mutt in Athens named Lou- “It’s sort of a merger but
Associated Press kanikos, who became a it’s a schizophrenic merg-
NEW YORK (AP) — The cre- four-legged symbol of the er,” Hotchner joked. “Cats
ator of a film festival cel- anti-austerity protests in are not little dogs. And cat
ebrating dogs has taken a Greece after showing up people aren’t necessarily
surprising step: cats. on the front lines and fac- dog people.”
But Tracie Hotchner, a ing down authorities along- She said she started with
pet wellness advocate side the humans. dogs “because it hon-
In this Feb. 20, 2012, file photo, a stray dog, called by protesters
Loukanikos (Sausage), barks to a motorcyclist policeman via books, podcasts and Zournazi, who teaches soci- estly didn’t cross my mind
as high school students block the avenue outside the Greek radio shows, isn’t going ology in New South Wales, that there could be a de-
Parliament during an anti-austerity protest in Athens. full-on “Ghostbusters” — Australia, knew nothing cent movie about a cat.”
Associated Press “dogs and cats living to- about the dogs until she first Hotchner was pleasantly
gether. Mass hysteria!” arrived in Athens in 2014. surprised when she went in
She’s screening a medley “It was a really tense time search of film fodder.
of shorts about cats on Sat- because of the austerity In the 8-minute “Scaredy,
urday in New York, then will measures,” she said from the Cat,” for example, New
take her feline fest on the Australia. “The crisis was in York City filmmaker Markie
road, followed by her 3rd full swing. I fell in love with Hancock celebrates the
annual NY Dog Film Festival the dogs immediately. life of a feral cat taken
on Sunday. They led me to think about on to be a ratter at some
To be clear. This isn’t one of that relationship with the public clay tennis courts in
those internet-cutesy fests people who take care of Riverside Park. The problem
like the cat meme-heavy them.” was she turned out to be
one at the Walker Art Cen- Zournazi’s project is as long scared of rats — and most
ter in Minneapolis. While as these films get. Some are people, yet she has forged
some of the selections are as short as a minute. All are a close bond to a small
humorous, these are films intended to inspire, Hotch- handful, going so far as to
made by actual filmmak- ner said from Bennington, wait for some to show up
ers, as opposed to people Vermont, where she lives. at their regular times. Han-
looking to go viral with their “I’m a little allergic to cock stumbled on Scaredy
pets as video props. cute,” Hotchner said. “My while making a longer film
The dog fest, Hotchner universe is all about educa- about Dorian Rence, a vio-
said, grew out of the social tion.” list for the New York Philhar-
media popularity of pets. There are no awards, but monic who cares for a feral
“I’m not a fan of animal her dog fest has been sell- cat colony in some train
videos,” she explained. “I ing out since 2015, she said. tunnels not far from the ten-
find that animal videos on- Tickets were selling well for nis courts. “Most of the peo-
line tend to have a sham- all slates heading into the ple who care for Scaredy
ing quality. It’s just not my weekend at the School don’t even play tennis,”
cup of tea. I’m celebrating of Visual Arts, which has a Hancock said in an inter-
the relationship with hu- 530-seat theater. view. “But they all go down
mans, the bond.” “Many people have nev- there to feed and take
For both cats and dogs, er been to a film festival. care of her. I love that free
some of the films are script- They’re not trying to see exchange with no com-
ed, some animated and the next Martin Scorsese. merce involved, no tech-
some are documentaries, The first year was word of nology involved. It’s peo-
like the one by Mary Zour- mouth and people were ple in a public space who
nazi, “Dogs of Democ- flying in,” Hotchner said. are connecting with each
racy.” Her 58-minute film So why add cats? And why other. I think animals really
highlights the life of a street on separate days? just bring us together.”q

Meryl Streep calls out Harvey

Weinstein at women’s conference

BOSTON (AP) — Meryl Weinstein “the most gar- setts Women’s Conference
Streep says she and other gantuan example of disre- in Boston. The feminist lead-
actresses are planning to spect” permeating every er called President Don-
make a series of “non-ne- industry. ald Trump the “harasser in
gotiable” demands in the She said women still don’t chief” at the conference’s
wake of the sexual miscon- have enough representa- opening night Wednesday.
duct allegations that have tion in leadership positions More than a dozen women
rocked Hollywood, media and that impacts how de- have said Trump sexually
and politics. cisions are made. assaulted or harassed them
Streep on Thursday also She made the comments in over the years.
called the allegations a conversation with Gloria He has denied the
against producer Harvey Steinem at the Massachu- allegations.q