Charmolipi - The story of two stray cats

This film is the story of two stray cats on the Greek Island of Skiathos, Rocky and Severus, and my bond with them. It is a film that anyone with a love of animals will connect with and for anyone who doesn't to hopefully respect animals more.

Charmolipi is the perfect word and title for this film. It is an old Greek work made up of 'chara' (joy) and 'lipi' (sadness). There is no equivalent word in English, it means a feeling of happiness and sadness at the sad time.

This is the most personal film I have ever made. It was filmed whilst I was on holiday. I set out to make a film that explained why I love going there, to show the beauty of this island in the best way I could. I also needed to show why it is a place that can make me profoundly sad and after each visit these two feelings become so entwined it is hard to feel one without the other. That is what the goal of the film was. Events took over though and it became something much more than was planned.

Initially it will feel like a bit of a travelogue, but it really is not. There is a slow build for a reason. Different locations, places, things and the cats are all characters that play a big role within the film as it progresses. As I am your eyes I am also a character, there are people in it but they, bar a couple of people, are all very much in the background. There is a reason for this and it's something you will understand by the end.

It is hard to define what specific genre this film is. It is not a documentary but in many ways it is because it is real, it tells a story, an evolving one but it's not a documentary in the traditional; sense. It's a very emotive film and as I mentioned this is very personal; 2 weeks though my eyes feeling what I feel conveyed with beautiful visuals and beautiful music. It is also very rich in natural sound.

There is no voice over and only about 10 words spoken visually on camera. The story is through the images and sound as well as the text that I sprinkle throughout the film.

I hope this film connects with you, it was a labour of love and means the world to me. It also took everything out of me both filming and reliving it again and again and again whilst editing it.

If you could help the charity, the Skiathos Cat Welfare Association, I would be so grateful. They do such amazing work to keep these beautiful animals fed and healthy. I haven't seen a Greek island with so many healthy looking cats, its a huge credit to them. Their website is http://skiathos-cats.org

I have made many films in Skiathos now and this is probably my favourite of them, in fact it could one of the films I am most proud of in my career. The Skiathos Kittens series is also very special to me because it is how I came to adopt Harriet and Jimmy.. You can see the series on this channel or by clicking on the playlist here:    • The Skiathos Cats