It was sheer luck that Lisa Vallez had a video recorder on hand when one of her rescue kittens, Albert, decided to take a swipe at a dog 10 times his size. She posted the 28-second clip on YouTube in 2007, never expecting it to rack up the over 645,000* views it has today.
“I’ve posted other videos of our cats before, but that one took off,” the Greenpoint resident says about her viral video, “Little Kitten Challenges Big Dog!”
Welcome to the world of Internet cat stardom, where web sensations such as Grumpy Cat and Lil’ Bub reign supreme. So popular have these feline-focused clips become, that on Friday, Oct. 25, Brooklyn’s Warsaw Theater is set to host the New York premiere of the Internet Cat Video Film Festival. Here are five local entrants seeking feline fame tomorrow…
The Internet Cat Video Film Festival is on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m, 261 Driggs Ave., Brooklyn. 718-387-0505. Admission: $20. All viewing numbers correct at time of publication.
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1. "Cats on Film" by Julie Klausner
Length: 3:46, Views: 52,000+
Comedian and host of the inaugural Internet Cat Video Film Festival Julie Klausner put together this spoof to that’s so over-the-top, it almost seems like it could be legit. Starring as Cat Video Director Shula Von Hollow, Klausner claims to be the “Stanley Kubrick of cat videos,” taking credit for viral vids such as “Surprised Kitty” and “The OMG Cat.”
“My favorite videos are when the cats act like an a**hole and exhibit no remorse,” Klausner, 35 of Lower Manhattan says. “I think it’s a really interesting experience to watch them in public with others, because you find yourself laughing at things you wouldn’t ordinarily laugh at.”
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2. "Little Cat Challenges Big Dog!" by Lisa Vallez
Length: 0:28, Views: 645,314
Though Vallez is no stranger to posting cats on her YouTube channel, this was the first to go viral. The 57-year-old founder of the North Brooklyn Cats rescue group in Greenpoint got used to toting her camera around to snap pics of the cats to help get them adopted.
“Cats are mysterious creatures, and it’s fun to see them get caught off-guard,” she says of the festival’s popularity. In the end, her recording served its purpose — Albert was eventually adopted, though he unexpectedly passed away a few years later.
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3. "Spoiled Milk" by Sydney Clara Brafman
Length: 1:00, Views: 754
Brafman’s video wasn’t initially meant to be an Internet hit. “I created it for a final project for one of my classes at Pratt,” the 20-year-old Fort Green resident says. “I had to demonstrate a mastery of the After Effects program, so I decided to build a cat video in the style of Godzilla.” The minute-long clip uses a cat’s photograph and some serious animation to create a fun, albeit confusing, experience.
“We all have to go to class, or work a 9 to 5, and it’s nice to come home and watch a video that just makes you laugh.”
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4. "I'm Just a Cat and I'm Doing Cat Stuff" by Adam Schleichkorn
Length: 1:32, Views: 1,013,376
While some videos are spur-of-the-moment, Schleichkorn’s video took years to compile enough clips of his cat Mylo meowing to make the voice-over music video possible. “He’s not a friendly cat by any means,” Schleichkorn says of his cat, whose larger-than-life personality has made him the star of hundreds of YouTube videos. Mylo has over 5,000 fans on Facebook, and the pair are hoping to make an appearance at Brooklyn’s festival.
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5. "The Girl From Normandy" by David Bizzaro and Cassandra Ketrick
Length: 1:45, Views: 307
When Bizzaro and Ketrick saw how popular cat videos were becoming online, they decided to enter their cat Rita into the mix. “She doesn’t do stuff on command, so we wanted to come up with a story for her,” Ketrick, 27, says. The two WashingtonHeights residents shot the clip of a young cat yearning to be free in Ketrick’s home state of Oklahoma. “It’s a sweet little video, but it’s not viral by any means, so we were surprised when we got picked,” the proud owner says.
Though Rita’s antics are mostly confined to Vine videos now, the couple are looking forward to this weekend’s event. “I bet the people watching will be great,” Bizzaro, 29, predicts.