di Francesca Pacini
Zeytin lives in Istanbul and is a dog without a home and without an owner. Elizabeth is a director who, like many travelers, is struck by the city’s relationship with its four-legged inhabitants. And she decides to return there to shoot Stray, a documentary about this unique relationship between man, animal and city…
When I interview Elizabeth Lo I am not in Istanbul. I am in Rome, she is in Los Angeles. But the distance is broken down by the depth of her voice, and by the things she says. She speaks with her soul in her hand. Not her heart, but her soul. We all fall in love with Istanbul. We all want to go back. But she was able to tell it through the eyes of the stray dogs that share the city with the men. And she decides to follow Zeytin, for months. She tells Istanbul through her dog’s eyes. And she makes us understand that Zeytin’s gaze is no less important than ours. When Zeytin disappeared at a certain point after filming, Elizabeth returned to Istanbul, found her, and had her adopted. She didn’t know at that time that a new government law would hit stray dogs, ordering their capture, segregation in insufficient and crowded shelters, and extermination of aggressive and sick dogs (with what controls? Who says). So her documentary is more precious than ever.
Elizabeth, how did the idea for Stray come about?
I conceived the film as something that was supposed to demonstrate that humans can coexist with dogs, I thought it was really commendable that Istanbul had this peculiarity. I thought it was a miracle. Because in every other city in the world stray dogs have been eliminated from the streets. There was no other modern city with this stray culture. I was shocked by this law, passed shortly after my film. Yes, I thought that at some point in the future, dogs could be in danger, also because historically they have already been exiled, and put in danger.
Also in Istanbul…
Yes, exactly. I didn’t think it would happen again. I was sure that the will of the people would prevent such a thing.
What do you think about the fact that they say that in Europe we are much more civilized because we don’t have strays on the streets?
They don’t visit shelters. They don’t see the desperate situations of abandonment, or the strays in the south that are never sterilized… Moreover, Turkey doesn’t have enough shelters, nor has it built a real culture of animal shelters.
I think that in the Western world we have an upside down vision. Is it really more humane to have streets free of stray dogs and cats? It’s rather crazy that they are not allowed into the common life of the city. A more humane approach instead involves coexistence with animals. Why do they have to be incarcerated, languish and die? Many practice euthanasia if the dogs are not adopted! Terrible. It is very sad to see this change in Turkey. The alignment with other European cities is not a positive sign.
It hurts a lot, it’s true. Turkish dogs are often gigantic in size, which makes adoptions more difficult. Not to mention the fact that in Muslim countries it is more difficult for dogs to be adopted… Not inside the house, and now not outside. Where, then? And will this law be a political fact?
Activists fight and confirm the politicization of any religious input. The problems of society are different. Strays, immigrants… scapegoats. Used to distract from real problems.
And take a stand. Even inspire just one soul. People are afraid of everything now. There is a genocide and the world is silent. About the importance of the message: animals have always been chosen as a symbol in the past. They are archetypes, bearers of evolutionary messages for man. We find it in fairy tales, in legends (just think of Aesop). They are a door for the path to the recovery of the soul. What happened to us?
Judeo-Christian religions have somehow allowed the exploitation of animals. Animals are slowly disappearing from our culture, from our civilization. We no longer have any contact with them. Apart from our domestic cats and dogs, of course. We have deprived ourselves of this resource.