The Cats of Gokogu Shrine
The Shinto shrine Gokogu in the Japanese coastal town of Ushimado is a refuge for stray cats. Filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda calmly and amiably observes not only the animals, but also the people who come and go.
Festival IDFA
Location Rabozaal
Run time 139 minutes
Genre Film
Dutch premiere
The Shinto shrine Gokogu in the Japanese coastal town of Ushimado is home to a colony of stray cats. This film calmly observes how the animals have made a life here, waiting to be thrown some fish, sheltering during a rain shower. As in his previous documentaries Peace (2010) and Inland Sea (2018), director Kazuhiro Soda takes a distinctively patient and amiable approach to his subjects, whether he’s taking the time to observe, or striking up a conversation. The cats might be the main characters, but this is also a portrait of the people who come and go at the shrine.
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The volunteers who feed the cats, wipe dirt from their eyes and catch them to have them sterilized in an attempt to reduce the population. The woman who explains that she isn’t allowed to keep cats at home. The 80-year-old gardener, who isn’t too keen on the cats pooping in his flower beds. With understanding, Soda documents the differences of opinion, but ultimately The Cats of Gokogu Shrine shows how this place is a refuge for both humans and cats.
ABOUT IDFA
IDFA strives to strengthen the international documentary climate by focusing more than ever on documentary film as an art form. This focus includes documentary films with an original visual language or structure, films that show lesser-known cultures or are filmed from a non-Western perspective, and interactive or immersive documentaries that innovate the field.