ABSTRACT

This second book in the Routledge Docalogue series continues to model a new form for the discussion of documentary film, focusing on a new film and a different set of critical questions.

Kedi (2016) is the first feature documentary by Turkish-American filmmaker Ceyda Torun. The film provides a window into the everyday lives of Istanbul street cats; their itinerant meanderings present a non-human perspective on this ever-changing, ancient city while at the same time exploring the meaningful impact these cats have on the humans they encounter. Kedi: A Docalogue brings together a diversity of perspectives on this film. By combining five distinct critical approaches to a single documentary, this book acts both as an intensive scholarly treatment and as a guide for how to analyze, theorize, and contextualize a documentary.

Together, the essays in this book touch upon key topics in documentary studies, including animal studies, eco-documentaries, sound studies, and media industry studies, making them essential reading for scholars interested in contemporary documentary. They also provide useful case studies for teaching documentary film in courses on Contemporary Cinema, Cultural Studies, and Media Industries.

chapter |3 pages

Introduction

Kedi in context

chapter 1|15 pages

From cat to clowder

Kedi in the anthropocene

chapter 2|18 pages

Tracking cats and voicing dogs

Locating street animals in Kedi and Taşkafa : stories of the street

chapter 3|15 pages

Foreign and familiar

Kedi and the musicality of Istanbul

chapter 5|18 pages

68Kedi

Crossover documentary as popular art cinema

chapter |10 pages

Epilogue

A conversation with Kedi’s director, Ceyda Torun