November the 1st, 2024 – The issue of street cats in Croatia is a burning one. It’s a problem that plagues most Mediterranean countries, including the tiny island of Malta. Expat filmmaker in Zagreb Sarah Jayne Portelli decided to dedicate an entire film to their plight.
When it comes to foreigners living in Croatia, we’re often hit with stories of migrants from third countries arriving and taking up labour for the service industry where the domestic labour market has failed. Regardless of what the headlines might have you think, there are far more foreign nationals living in Croatia than meet the eye, and many of them are talented creatives.
Sarah Jayne Portelli, an Australian filmmaker at Nexus Production Group with Maltese heritage, is one of them. She has a self-admitted adoration for cats, so much so that she chose to employ her independent film talents in telling a story that plays out for the felines of Malta’s streets. The lives of Maltese street cats are not remotely unlike those experienced by the hordes of unfortunate street cats that dominate (and suffer on) Dalmatia’s ancient cobbles and stones, and therefore much can be taken from this interesting documentation of Maltese feline life.
Cats of Malta lovingly explores the power of community and human-animal connections. It meets numerous characters who empathise with the difficult hand dealt to Malta’s cats and feed them and dedicate time and creative energy to them.
Much could be translated into the Croatian attitude towards street cats. They pose a serious problem to the authorities in many Dalmatian towns and cities, with those heavily oriented towards tourism seeing them as pests and pariahs. Not so, the tourists themselves. In this day and age, where sterilisation is cheap (and sometimes free) and the general attitude towards animals is at the best it has ever been, there should be no such issues. This is particularly of a country like Croatia, which rakes in eye-watering sums of money each and every year from foreign tourists. Perhaps lessons could be learned from this fantastically captured Maltese approach?
Cats of Malta has been screened on PBS across the pond in the USA already, and plenty more coverage for this unique and quirky look at the lives lived by street cats is in the works.
Expat filmmaker in Zagreb Sarah’s film delves more deeply into not only the lives of the feline characters, but also into human beings who have chosen to act as their guardians. Similar tales could be told in almost all Dalmatian and Istrian villages, towns and cities.
For every inhumane action taken against street cats in Croatia deemed to be vermin by the less than educated, there are two stories about the love and care exercised endlessly by volunteer organisations who rely solely on donations, individual animal lovers purchasing food, water and medication, and those who build shelters.
Cats of Croatia wouldn’t look particularly different to this independent masterpiece by this expat filmmaker in Zagreb. There would be plenty of lessons learned across the board when it comes to proper animal welfare in a country that loves to beat its chest about its political and strategic achievements, but yet cannot manage to kindly solve its problem of strays.
Expat filmmaker in Zagreb Sarah’s production company, Nexus Production Group, has also made a film right here in Croatia, with plenty more on the list. They can be viewed here.
