Through the Eyes of a Dog. See the Trailer for "Stray", a Story About a Pack of Abandoned Dogs13.01.2021

The streets of Istanbul are roamed by as many as 130,000 stray dogs 

In Turkey, homeless dogs are neither placed in shelters nor put down. After spaying and a general checkup with a veterinarian, they are free to do as they please. Most of the canines form packs, taking over courtyards, watching over streets and squares at night. Like the many cats of Istanbul (which were the subject of the documentary Kedi), they make up the living, breathing Istanbul cityscape. 

In the 2020 documentary Stray, the camera focuses on three dogs—Zeytyn, Nazar, and Kartal, who spend their days roaming the streets of the city, coming into spontaneous contact with humans, playing around, and sleeping. At first glance, the film resembles a documentary version of Kornél Mundruczó’s 2014 feature film The White God, but the lives of the Istanbul mutts portrayed in Stray are far from bitter, even though they unfold mostly on the fringes of urban existence. Instead, the dogs spend much of their days integrating themselves with their surroundings, including other dogs, animals, and passersby. 

The documentary was directed by Elizabeth Lo, whose earlier efforts also touched on the issue of homelessness. He credits include Hotel 22, a 2014 short film about night buses running in Silicon Valley. Although by day the vehicles serve their public transport role, as night falls they become temporary domiciles for many people who have no home to come back to. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Festival and the Golden Frog at the Camerimage Festival. 

Stray is expected to be released online on March 5 at the earliest. The film premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.