The nonprofit i Film Heroes advocates for the world’s rescue cats and dogs through film. Using storytelling to educate the public on rescue topics like fostering, volunteering and adopting, just to name a few, the filmmakers share their work on social media platforms like YouTube, giving viewers the opportunity to watch and share to help spread the nonprofit’s message. The films are a great resource for those who want to get involved but aren’t sure how, and can be viewed as both entertainment and education.

The group’s latest venture is a feature- length film called The Life of a Cat Trapper, which is the first in its new Rural Cities film series and focuses on the importance of trap-neuter-return in the cat community. Filmmaker and i Film Heroes co-creator Cristian Ruben was able to see the TNR process firsthand by spending time with a woman named Sue from Good Mews Animal Foundation in Georgia, as she traps the community cats, brings them to Good Mews Animal Foundation to have them spayed and neutered, then returns the cats to their area.

“I am forever grateful for the opportunity I had to capture the life of a cat trapper, from beginning to end,” Cristian says. “What I learned gave me the ability to now advocate for rescue cats from a much deeper place.”

He points out that Sue’s efforts in TNR creates more opportunities for communities to get better educated and get more cats adopted, fostered or simply cared for outdoors.

Cristian hopes the film will change the way people view community cats. “The same cats that some neighbors might find a nuisance simply because of their presence around the neighborhood will learn that they can be cared for by members of that same community.” Thanks to TNR, these cats can live out their lives where they’re happy and comfortable without adding to the problem of overpopulation.

Learn more at ifilmheroes.com and watch the film on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=7_NzIeth9fY.