STRAY
Whether through bustling streets or decrepit ruins, the gaze of three stray dogs provides a window into the overlooked corners of Turkish society. Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal lead us on inconspicuous journeys throughout Istanbul, allowing for unusual and unvarnished portraits of human and canine life.
“A simple work of genius. I have never seen a feature film like this. The dogs are not being used by the human filmmakers to tell a human story — we are here to let the dogs tell us their story, even if we haven't a clue what's going on inside their heads.”
Mike’s Letter, Michael Moore
“Organically and entirely without judgment, “Stray” builds a subtle, cross-species commentary that’s more than a little melancholy. While never directly political, Lo’s camera is there when the animals encounter a women’s march for equality and when the refugees connect with boatmen who share their own migrant past. The filmmaker's eyes may rarely leave the dogs, but what she’s really looking at is us.”
Jeanette Catsoulis, New York Times Critics' Pick
“The ultimate love letter to dogs and a multifaceted moral inquiry into humanity. Stray is an urban musical opus with a strange and singular beauty.”
Tomris Laffly, Variety
“A howling success. An extraordinary technical feat as well as profoundly expressive. Lo's artful, intimate documentary joins a growing body of indelible nonfiction films, among them ‘Gunda,' that address the mystery of human-animal relationships and the need to reconsider our assumptions.”
Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
"Lo’s direction is provocative and lively, shooting at barely knee-height throughout, with tracking shots that feel properly ripped right out of late-period Terence Malick."
Joshua Brunsting, Criterioncast
“Dog lovers will drool over this profound canine love letter from Turkey.”
Eric Kohn, Indiewire
“Captivating and immersive. There’s a tremendous amount of human skill, empathy, observational power and narrative shaping in Lo’s mesmerizing canine saga.”
Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine
“Oddly beautiful, a social-realist nature movie with a note of the mythic.”
Danny Leigh, Financial Times
"Lo’s film purposefully transcends hard-line stances that plainly condemn ideological hypocrisies, instead opting for a sweeping visual and philosophical framework to enlighten audiences in a creatively beautiful way.”
Natalie Keogan, Paste Magazine
“What Lo captures is remarkable as she stays with dogs that most people see only for a moment. Lo’s humane film helps us glimpse the lives of those who are often overlooked, whether they walk the streets of Istanbul on four legs or two.”
Kimber Myers, Los Angeles Times
“With what must have been infinite, backbreaking patience, Lo and crew follow the dogs as they freely pass from rich to poor neighborhoods, from luxury to squalor. The city comes alive not only with rich and redolent visuals, but with the elegant sound design by Ernst Karel. The sounds of the city are deftly orchestrated and integrated with the exquisite, atonal soundtrack by Ali Helnwein.”
Peter Keough, Boston Globe
“Elizabeth Lo’s “Stray” is an incredibly stirring film. The director has something profound to say about humanity.”
Anthony Francis, Screen Comment
“Lo’s documentary finds its strength in a refusal to tidily shape it for the catharsis of her audience. Instead, Stray invites us to wonder about the ambiguities of interspecies survival and freedom in the context of nationalism, war, and the policing of public space.”
Katherine Connell, Reverse Shot
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
2020 Winner, Top Jury Prize, Best International Feature Film, Hot Docs International Film Festival
2021 Nominee, Independent Spirit Award - Truer Than Fiction Award
2021 Nominee, Outstanding Debut Feature & Cinematography, Cinema Eye Honors
2020 Nominee, Bronze Horse Award, Stockholm Film Festival
2020 Nominee, Critics Choice Award - Best First Documentary Feature
2021 Winner, Best Film Award, Qara Film Festival, Kazakhstan
2021 Winner, Best Editing, Patagonia Environmental Film Festival, Argentina
2021 Winner, Best Cinematography, Millenium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, Poland
2021 Winner, Best Documentary, Seoul Eco Film Festival, Korea
2020 Winner, Emerging Filmmaker Award, San Diego Asian Film Festival
2020 Winner, Distribution Prize, Gijon International Film Festival, Spain
2020 Finalist, Audience Award, BFI London Film Festival
2020 Nominee, Documentaire Extraordinaire Award - Bergen International Film Festival, Norway
2020 Shortlist, International Documentary Association Award - IDA Screening Series
2020 Tribeca Film Festival
2020 Museum of Modern Art MoMA - The Future of Film is Female
2020 IDFA, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam - Best of Fest
2020 CPH:DOX, Copenhagen
2020 DOKUFEST, Kosovo
2020 DOC NYC Winners Circle
2020 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF)
2020 Hamptons International Film Festival
2020 Rooftop Films Summer Series
2020 Istanbul Independent Film Festival
2020 Whistler Film Festival
2020 Atlantic Film Festival
2020 Calgary Film Festival
2020 Big Sky Film Series
2020 Ireland Film Festival
2020 RIDM, Montreal
2020 Hawaii International Film Festival
2020 Tacoma Film Festival
2020 Revelation Film Festival, Perth
2020 Antenna Film Festival, Sydney
2020 San Francisco Film Society Doc Stories
2020 Iran International Documentary Film Festival
