By Nell Geraets
There is no shortage of cat content on the internet. More than 18 million cat videos were uploaded to YouTube in the first half of 2022 alone. That’s 90,000 clips uploaded each day. But for Will Braden – Seattle’s most committed “cat person” – this wasn’t enough.
He wanted something curated, something with more substance. He also wanted to assist cats in need. So, in 2012, he helped create CatVideoFest, a 75-minute reel of the best and latest cat videos from around the world, which screens in cinemas annually to raise money for local shelters and animal welfare organisations.
CatVideoFest may look like a simple YouTube cat compilation, but it’s much more than that.
“With CatVideoFest, we get cat lovers together in one place. You’re going to see cat videos, but you’re also going to be among your people,” Braden says, as his own cat Nin – whom he calls his “supervisor” – sleeps soundly behind him.
“It’s impossible to be in that environment and feel sheepish about it. It’s just unironically joyous and fun. The icing on the cake is that you’re raising money for your local shelter.”
Will Braden, curator of CatVideoFest, and his “supervisor” Nin the cat.
Though not the type of film one would typically pay to see at the cinema, CatVideoFest has become quite the phenomenon. Braden says its audience grows by about 30 to 40 per cent every year. This year alone, it has grossed over $410,000 in the US – double its 2023 earnings – and raised nearly $45,000 for local animal shelters and welfare organisations. Cat video fans may be aware of Braden’s earlier online videos, featuring Henri, the existentialist cat, who mused on philosophy, literature and other such matters.
This year marks the first screening of CatVideoFest in Australia. It will feature in 129 cinemas nationwide, with a portion of all proceeds going towards local shelters such as Melbourne’s Maneki Neko Cat Rescue.
Since taking over as head of the festival in 2016, Braden says CatVideoFest has become his full-time job. He watches around 15,000 cat videos a year, some of which he finds on social media, via friends or even in never-before-seen student films. For a clip to make the final reel, which usually consists of about 200 videos, it must be relatively short, engaging, and feature cats in a kind manner (aka “no cats in peril”). Braden also needs to source permission for every video he uses, as well as any of the music it contains.
“It takes the whole year, and once it’s done, it starts all over again. My business card literally says, ‘I watch cat videos for a living’.”
Considering the endless cat content available for free online, Braden works overtime to make CatVideoFest memorable.
“I show things from other parts of the world that would never go viral, that you’d never see unless someone curated it for you,” Braden says. “I learned how to say cat, funny and fail in 30 other languages to find niche videos. But even if it’s all silly and funny, I want people to feel like there’s a real purpose behind it.”
CatVideoFest is playing across Australia from Oct 17 for a limited time only.
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