You’ve been click-baited. But not by us. By ACMI. A 15-minute cut of internet cat videos will headline the program of short films that ACMI will screen all night at Melbourne’s White Night festival on February 20. “We’re trying to celebrate some broad, contrasting work,” says ACMI producer, Emily Siddons. “The Cat Festival reflects the online space and digital culture. The amazing Indigenous films we’re screening showcase Australian film.”

Every year in Minneapolis there’s an Internet Cat Video Film Festival. It started as a joke, says Siddons, but since 2012 the festival has attracted more than 13,000 people every year. It began as a social experiment to test the boundaries of online communities, but became an internationally renowned, communal experience for fans of the LOLcats phenomenon. ACMI’s 15-minute cut of cat videos pays homage to the festival, and screens in the main cinema every half hour between 7pm and 7am. Alongside the cat-laden showcase is some genuinely thoughtful programming, featuring a handful of worthy films from Australia’s cinematic history. The first of three other Australian short films to screen throughout the evening is Night Cries, by Indigenous artist, Tracey Moffatt. Running for just under 20 minutes, the film, shot entirely in a studio, is known for its vibrant, artificial landscapes and rich sound. It explores the relationship between a white woman and her Aboriginal daughter, and won Moffatt Best Short Film at MIFF in 1990.