Cats Rule the Internet; Now They’ll Have Their Own Video Festival

It will be the competition of our lifetime. Cats have long been the overlords of the Internet, ruling over us with their furry iron fists. Now, they will be pitted against each other–not in some kind of horrible cat-fighting ring situation, but in the first annual occurrence of a festival designed to showcase the world’s best of the Internet’s cat videos.

To take place in Minneapolis next month, the first annual Internet Cat Video Festival will take place in the Walker Art Center, one of the US’ leading contemporary art museums. The festival will choose the best videos through public opinion and then showcase them; you can vote for your picks here until July 30th.

In a rare feat for film festivals, this particular event is said to last less than an hour, as most cat videos on the web tend to keep things short, sweet, and mightily feline. Well, except for Nyan Cat.

The festival will be a rare opportunity for people to watch Internet cat videos in the company of a large room full of people, as opposed to the usual practice of watching them alone or in the company of just a few others.

According to Wired, the festival is also an important step in the evolution of the cat video in general:

The festival represents an important first step in the direction of cat video legitimacy. Cats are still largely ignored by the big-ticket art world, despite the best efforts of artists such as Cory Arcangel, who made several videos of cats playing challenging atonal piano music written in 1909.

Yes, if there is one thing I want, it is for people to pay more respect to the cats and their video talents.

In all honesty, though, if I lived in the Minneapolis area I would be all over this. An hour in an art museum, surrounded people who’ll want to watch Internet videos and talk about their favorite cat hijinks? It kind of sounds like the greatest.

Here’s what Katie Czarniecki Hill, who is helping to organize the film fest, said in an official blog post about the event:

“Walker Open Field welcomes cat lovers (and challenges haters – c’mon, you know who you are) to openly release your cat-video-induced giggles and emotions that are otherwise muffled by computer screens and constrained by cubicles…. Let’s transform this singular small screen viewing experience into a shared celebration with the larger-than-life projection of these silly clips out on the Open Field.”

So we ask you: What are your picks for the best cat videos of all time? Who do you think deserves to win the prize of Greatest Cat Video of All Time?

(via Wired)

(Photo via The Funny Blog)

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