We’ve all heard of dog shows, but cat shows? What’s that all about? CBC Docs POV‘s CATWALK: TALES FROM THE CAT SHOW CIRCUIT takes us right inside the world of competitive cat owners as we go through a season of Canadian cat shows. These shows evaluate cats based on their confirmation to their respective breeds. It is explained right at the start that there are no huge monetary stakes involved, simply bragging rights and fancy ribbons for these devoted owners who take their craft very seriously.
We meet Kim Langille and her precious Turkish Angora cat Bobby who is regarded as the #1 cat on the circuit. That is until a flashy Red Persian cat named Oh La La comes out retirement with her owner Shirley McCollow for one last hurrah. The potential for upset doesn’t end there for Kim nor Shirley, as a few other competitors surface out of nowhere for a chance to take the throne, the season culminating in one final show in Whitby, Ontario where it literally is a cat fight to the finish for Bobby and Oh La La.
CATWALK: TALES FROM THE CAT SHOW CIRCUIT really gets inside the minds of the women behind these two cats and manages to tell the story with a feverish intensity in only 45 minutes. We become invested completely in which cat and owner might reign, but the Doc understands also that above their sense of competitiveness and desire for glory, is their deep affection for their animals whom are like children to their owners. This is the Doc’s emotional point of connection for us. That failing, there’s also the fact that the Doc’s subjects are irresistibly docile, sweet and fluffy. In the end, the story is a humbling one to accept victory or defeat with grace and that is a lesson we all can take away with us.
The Doc premieres on CBC TV Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 9 PM. For those in Toronto, the theatrical version opens at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on Friday, March 23, 2018.
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