Dogs and cats living together! Not quite at joint film fest

NEW YORK (AP) — The creator of a film festival celebrating dogs has taken a surprising step: cats.

But Tracie Hotchner, a pet wellness advocate via books, podcasts and radio shows, isn't going full-on "Ghostbusters" — "dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!" She's screening a medley of shorts about cats on Saturday in New York, then will take her feline fest on the road, followed by her 3rd annual NY Dog Film Festival on Sunday.

To be clear. This isn't one of those internet-cutesy fests like the cat meme-heavy one at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. While some of the selections are humorous, these are films made by actual filmmakers, as opposed to people looking to go viral with their pets as video props.

The dog fest, Hotchner said, grew out of the social media popularity of pets.

"I'm not a fan of animal videos," she explained. "I find that animal videos online tend to have a shaming quality. It's just not my cup of tea. I'm celebrating the relationship with humans, the bond."

For both cats and dogs, some of the films are scripted, some animated and some are documentaries, like the one by Mary Zournazi, "Dogs of Democracy." Her 58-minute film highlights the life of a street mutt in Athens named Loukanikos, who became a four-legged symbol of the anti-austerity protests in Greece after showing up on the front lines and facing down authorities alongside the humans.

Zournazi, who teaches sociology in New South Wales, Australia, knew nothing about the dogs until she first arrived in Athens in 2014.

"It was a really tense time because of the austerity measures," she said from Australia. "The crisis was in full swing. I fell in love with the dogs immediately. They led me to think about that relationship with the people who take care of them."

Zournazi's project is as long as these films get. Some are as short as a minute. All are intended to inspire, Hotchner said from Bennington, Vermont, where she lives.

"I'm a little allergic to cute," Hotchner said. "My universe is all about education."