CatVideoFest comes to The Screening Room

Feline fans and internet video lovers: You won’t want to miss this!

CatVideoFest will be playing for one day only at the Screening Room on Sunday, July 7, 2019. There will be two showings of the 72 minute cat video compilation reel at 4pm and 7pm. Clips will come from classic internet cat videos, sourced animations, music videos, and submissions.

CatVideoFest is a registered Social Purpose Corporation working to “bring the joy of cat videos to the masses and raise money for cats in need,” and the Screening Room event is just one of many CatVideoFest screenings taking place all over the world. A portion of the proceeds from each event will go toward cats in need through partnerships with local cat charities, animal welfare organizations, and shelters. Here in Kingston, $2 from every ticket sold at the Screening Room will go to Kingston Animal Rescue, a local volunteer-run, no-kill animal rescue group.

According to Screening Room owner and operator Wendy Huot, CatVideoFest played with great success in Toronto and other Canadian cities.

“I think it’s really neat,” Huot said, “the idea of taking that cat video watching experience, which can often just be kind of solitary thing you do at your desk, at work, or at home, or just looking on your phone, and create this opportunity for people to gather and watch those videos and laugh at them together.”

While the Screening Room plays many feature films, the independent theatre specializes in art house, indie, foreign, cult and classic movies. The cinema has seen a boom in business since the 2018 renovations, according to Huot, who spoke about how Kingstonians seem to value the ritual of movie-going and “the potential for movie theaters to be kind of gathering places for people to watch or experience something a bit different than your typical kind of feature film.”

The touring program is only available in theatres, meaning that even Huot hasn’t had a chance to see it yet. “It’s all a surprise,” said Huot. “It’s all going to be new for me as well.”

After the 2018 renovations, the Screening Room is fully accessible, and according to Huot, the upgraded air conditioning has made it “a nice cool place to be when it starts getting really hot.” 
CatVideoFest is appropriate for viewers of all ages. Tickets can be bought in advance online at the Screening Room website or at the door.