Stray, movie about dogs and Syrian refugees in Istanbul, and why Hong Kong filmmaker Elizabeth Lo’s debut feature views life on the animals’ level
- Stray follows three Istanbul street dogs and their relationships with three homeless teenagers from Syria who sleep on construction sites and sniff glue
- Lo spent more than six months shooting, mostly from a crouched position, and found it difficult to readjust to normal life afterwards
In 1910, the street dogs of Istanbul were rounded up and taken to an island in Turkey’s Sea of Marmara. It had no trees, no water, no food.
The reasons for their eviction vary. One story has it that a British diplomat, chased by strays, jumped off a cliff to his death and the British insisted on retribution. But two details are constant: the 80,000 dogs could be heard howling as they slowly died and Turkey’s 20th-century ill-fortune in wars and earthquakes was said to be their curse.
Hong Kong filmmaker Elizabeth Lo has made a documentary about Istanbul’s street dogs called Stray. It begins with the unexpected statement that, because of widespread protests against dog killings, Turkey is now one of the only countries in the world where it is illegal to “euthanise or hold captive any stray dog”.
Soon we meet Zeytin, Nazar and Kartal, three street dogs; and Jamil, Halil and Ali, three teenage refugees from Syria who are also living rough on Istanbul’s streets.
There’s no narration. The camera follows their lives as dogs and humans interact with the city. The dogs scavenge and defecate. The teenagers sleep on construction sites and sniff glue. Halfway through, you may find yourself worrying more about the fate of Kartal, who’s a puppy, than the three lost boys; you may feel ashamed of your priorities.
Addressing that sort of guilt is what sent Lo, 34, to Istanbul. She wants us to accept our emotional response to animals. In 2009, her dog Mikey, a Shetland Sheepdog, died in Hong Kong. Lo was then studying film at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.