The documentary “25 Cats From Qatar” screened Sunday to a sold-out crowd at the Barrymore Theatre as part of the Wisconsin Film Festival. But its star, Milwaukee cat rescuer Katy McHugh, was too busy to stay in the theater and watch the film with the audience.
She was upstairs in the Barrymore’s office, bottle-feeding three kittens.
Such is the devotion that McHugh feels towards taking care of cats, both in Wisconsin and on the other side of the world. Mye Hoang’s inspiring documentary follows McHugh from her hometown of Milwaukee, where she runs the Sip & Purr cat cafe, to the country of Qatar, where she finds abandoned, injured and neglected cats to bring home to America for adoption.
Qatar’s homeless cat problem, ironically, is a byproduct of its wealth. The country imports loads of temporary guest workers to fuel Qatar’s explosive development (Hoang said in her four days filming in the country, she never met a native Qatari). Once the job is done, those workers are unceremoniously deported back to their home countries, often lacking the time or money to bring the pets they’ve adopted along with them. So the cats go out onto the streets of Doha, where the temperature often hits the triple digits and animal rescuers have to hide helping the cats from government officials.
Enter McHugh. She enters Doha with permission to relocate 25 cats, and Hoang’s camera follows her as she meets with good-hearted rescuers, kindly veterinarians working for free, and many, many, many cats. My personal favorite is a big orange tabby named Doctor Garfield, who does indeed convey the learned authority of a licensed physician. Seriously, if you love looking at cats, this is the movie for you.
With her combination of Midwest Nice and don’t-take-no-for-an-answer drive, McHugh collects the cats and gets them ready for the long plane ride before her deadline, and the ticking clock gives the film some suspense.
Along the way, she meets animal rescuers in Doha who have the same need to help cats as she does, such as the office manager who builds a hidden sanctuary for stray cats in his office. Beyond the cats, “25 Cats From Qatar” is a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people in the Middle East, kind people with the same hopes and dreams as everybody else, that feels timely and necessary right now. (McHugh went on a similar rescue mission to Lebanon in February, just before the war started.)
It was a film festival, fittingly, that brought Hoang and McHugh together. Hoang was at the Milwaukee Film Festival screening her previous documentary, “Cat Daddies,” when she met McHugh and learned about her missions.
Hoang is currently bringing “25 Cats From Qatar” to film festivals along with a truckload of merch, sales of which support both the film and local cat rescues at every stop along the way. She said she’s already planning her next film, which will tell the backstory of one of the cats rescued in “25 Cats,” possibly using animation. No doubt that the cat lovers who packed the Barrymore will be back for that one.
The Wisconsin Film Festival runs through Thursday at Flix Brewhouse Madison.
Nice review. I loved this film and I don't consider myself "a cat person". I was brought to tears towards the end (I won't give anything away) I saw you at the screening Rob so I was looking forward to your review today. I too will see her next film, and her others. Thanks! Janet Kjelland