Béla: L'Homme Chat

A short documentary shot during Cannes Film Festival 2011.

"Bela" follows the day in the life of a street performer named Bela Erdei or "the cat man". Bela, a recognizable face to some, travels hours by train throughout the south of France to perform with his affectionate house cats. An affable and eccentric character who has a real passion for what he does.

Bela comes from a family of tiger trainers. When his Grandfather went mad, Bela lost his chance to work with the tigers. He took it upon himself to continue work with felines and has trained his house cats to do various affectionate tricks. His control over his cats is uncanny which lead some to believe he has drugged them. Of course a touchy issue, Bela becomes upset by this accusations.

This documentary was shot and edited in a matter of days during the 2011 Cannes film festival, where it also premiered.

Tags

• bela
• Paul Trillo
• L'homme chat
• Cannes 2011
• cats