Toronto International Film Festival organizers have no intention of pulling a controversial film from the 2004 program, despite the outcry from local animal-rights activists.

“This is about freedom of expression of the filmmaker to make a intelligent, responsible film about a difficult subject,” said festival programmer Sean Farnel of his decision to schedule Casuistry: The Art Of Killing A Cat. “That’s what the festival is all about, setting the terms for debate, not stifling them.”

The 90-minute documentary examines the videotaped killing of a stray cat named Kensington at the hands of Jesse Power, Anthony Wennekers and Matt Kaczorowski in 2001.

“Anybody who allows this video to go around is just as cruel as the killers,” said Suzanne Lahaie of Freedom For Animals, the Kensington Market-based animal-rights group that intends to protest if the film is shown.

Lahaie, who describes herself as an activist for human and animal rights, hasn’t seen the movie.

She is opposed to giving the cat killers a platform to try and explain their actions and by doing so, the filmmakers and the festival are promoting “sickness and cruelty.”

http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2004/08/31/canada-to-release-cat-killer-film/