Shelter cats get red-carpet treatment at 2016 Catdance Film Festival

Sequined cat ears, a golden litter scoop, VR goggles and cuddly kittens — all were part of the fourth annual Catdance Film Festival over the weekend in Park City to bring attention to shelter animals.

And don't forget the cat videos — lots of them.

"Anyone who sees my Instagram sees that I am unabashedly a massive cat lover," said Catdance host Hannah Simone, who stars on the Fox series "New Girl." "I am a big believer in adopting your pets. When I was brought this opportunity it just made perfect sense — I couldn't say 'yes' fast enough. Also, it's an excuse to watch more awesome cat videos, which I spend a large part of my day doing anyway."

Cisero's Ristorante in Park City was transformed into the glitzy cat-tastic party on Saturday for the event as the Sundance Film Festival marked its opening weekend. Sponsored by "new Fresh Step with the power of Febreze," this year's Catdance introduced attendees to a new virtual-reality experience that allowed them to view the adoption experience from the eyes of a cat. Catdance also pampered attendees with gold-sequined cat ears, kitty-themed face painting, photo ops and screenings of the short films in the running for the golden litter scoop and $25,000 prize. Four kittens up for adoption, currently housed at the Summit County-based animal rescue ranch Nuzzles & Co., were on the red carpet.

Simone also discussed litter-box rejection, a reason many cats are taken to shelters. Part of her hosting gig meant educating audience members on Fresh Step's collaboration with Febreze to introduce a cat litter that helps solve litter-box rejection through making cats and owners more comfortable.

Simone, who had the opportunity to watch the films before their festival premieres, said she loved that there were cat films from a variety of genres.

"It was like every single genre of film that you love — animated, art house, reality TV show-style films — they're all there," she said.

About 40 films featuring shelter cats were entered into the contest, six of which screened at the festival. The winning film was "The Purfect Patsy," by Mike Thompson. The film stars Gregory Popovich, who is a licensed animal trainer, and his adopted pets Sebastian (the cat) and Felix (the dog).

Though the Catdance festival certainly speaks to crazy cat lovers, Simone said she hopes the event highlights the importance of rescuing animals from shelters and giving them a forever home.

"There's so many great things that happen at Catdance and it doesn't take itself too seriously," she said. "We are all just trying to do a really positive thing to encourage people to adopt and give them a solution on how to keep your cat more comfortable in your home — and indulge everyone's favorite thing to do online, which is to watch cat videos."

Find more information, watch the winning film and learn how to enter next year's contest at www.freshstep.com/promotions/catdance-festival-2016.