City Scenes: KC’s Stray Cat Film Center

One of the highlights of my last trip to Kansas City was a visit to the Stray Cat Film Center. Stray Cat describes itself as “an artist-run, non-profit microcinema and community space”. It’s located in downtown KC’s historic Crossroads neighborhood which is host to numerous breweries and arts venues (and potential future home of the Royals baseball stadium? It’s unclear how those plans might change after voters rejected a proposed sales tax intended to help pay for the stadiums earlier this month).

The front window features a simple neon sign advertising the venue along with a couple of cathode ray TVs with static-y screens. The vibe of eclectic retro-ism is fully fleshed out in the lobby area.

The screening room/event space is a cozy area outfitted with an array of seating that is evidently movable and modular to accommodate different functions.

Prior to the main feature they screened animated shorts. One of these was an early Soviet animation that I believe was “Mezhplanetnaya revolyutsiya,” a science fiction story in which a vengeful Red Army Warrior pursues the insidious capitalists who have fled the socialist revolution on Earth to seek refuge on Mars. The feature presentation was “The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog,” a 1927 silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and an early serial killer film. But even more exciting, Stray Cat was screening the film along with a live musical score.

The musical accompaniment was provided by a lone performer using a guitar and an assortment of effects pedals.

It was a minimalist and often unnerving soundtrack with droning, distortion, and scratchy strings. Always a treat to see a new Hitchcock, especially one of his earlier works that I might not have seen otherwise. Stray Cat is a cool venue doing cool stuff and I hope it continues to flourish regardless of the neighborhood might change in the near future.