Elizabeth Lo's profound and heart-stirring love letter to dogs has been met by howling reviews after its US release last weekend. Read our blog to find out more, and watch Stray in virtual cinemas & on demand 26 March + National Puppy Day preview 23 March.
"A work of genius... an unexpected gem which celebrates and challenges the humanity of those who watch it"
Michael Moore
"Delightful... The filmmaker's eyes may rarely leave the dogs, but what she’s really looking at is us." - Critics' Pick
The New York Times
"Remarkable... 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."
The Los Angeles Times
"An incredibly stirring film. The director has something profound to say about humanity."
Screen Comment
“A howling success. An extraordinary technical feat as well as profoundly expressive... Not to be missed”
The Hollywood Reporter
“The ultimate love letter to dogs and a multifaceted moral inquiry into humanity.”
Variety
"Strangely beautiful"
Screen Daily
“Dog lovers will drool over this profound canine love letter from Turkey”
IndieWire
"A captivating and immersive documentary. There’s a tremendous amount of human skill, empathy, observational power and narrative shaping in Lo’s mesmerizing canine saga.”
Filmmaker Magazine
Through the eyes of its stray dogs wandering the streets of Istanbul, Stray explores what it means to live as a being without status or security. As they search for food and shelter, three dogs—Zeytin, Nazar, and Kartal—embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society that allow us an unvarnished portrait of human life. Whether they lead us into decrepit ruins or bustling streets, the gaze of strays act as windows into the overlooked corners of society: women in loveless marriages, protesters without arms, refugees without sanctuary. Through their canine eyes, we are shown a human world ruptured by divisions along class, ethnic, and gender lines. The film is both a critical observation of human civilisation through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs, and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing and being from a position of extreme marginalisation. It is at this intersection that Stray seeks to shed light on Turkey’s societal convulsions through the observations of Zeytin and her companions —both human and nonhuman.