Abbas Kiarostami's 24 Frames finds an unlikely admirer in a deaf cat as Twitterati recount their own pet stories

Abbas Kiarostami’s final work 24 frames and a deaf cat featured in a recent Twitter thread penned down by writer Bilge Ebiri. Ebiri began the thread by mentioning how his deaf cat Vixen was never interested in movies. She doesn’t seem attracted to screens, or even windows. However, it changed when he had to write a Criterion essay for Kiarostami’s 24 frames.

The film, 24 frames, was an experimental film by acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. It was his final feature film before his death in July 2016. According to The New Yorker , the film includes 23 segments that turn Kiarostami’s own photographs, many in starkly beautiful black and white cinematic landscapes.

Ebiri. in his tweets, mentions how his deaf cat, Vixen, was transfixed by the movie. She was mesmerised by the fragments and even tried to get closer to the various animals and landscapes shown in the film. Ebiri further explains that Vixen even pawed at some of the birds, and even peeked behind the TV to see if they were there.

Vixen was utterly transfixed. She sat there watching the screen, then went up to it tried to get closer to the various animals and landscapes in the film. (4/9) pic.twitter.com/TXa9VwfsIt

— Bilge Ebiri (@BilgeEbiri) January 9, 2019

Read the entire thread here :

Here's a weird little thread about movies and pets. (1/9)

— Bilge Ebiri (@BilgeEbiri) January 9, 2019

Twitter was quick to respond to Ebiri’s thread and shared their own pet stories and how much they could relate to the thread:

Our deaf cat Lucia had exactly the same reaction to 24 Frames! She shows occasional interest in the TV, but this one she treated like an actual window. My wife took a video: https://t.co/0vNuHXeqUD

— A l i c e (@astoehr) January 9, 2019

this reminds me of how my cat is mesmerized every time i watch planet earth. Maybe I should see if 24 Frames has the same effect.

— shantron scanamoochi (@priscillapants) January 9, 2019

Thanks to this thread and Kiarostami’s hauntingly beautiful film, the idea of pets being drawn to landscapes and animals on screen proved relatable.