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DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

"Why is a dog's life more important to you than a person's life?" This is often a question animal advocates face from people who don't understand the bonds that can be formed with animals. It's often difficult to explain why an advocate would choose to work towards helping animals when there are people in the world who need the same assistance.

The simple answer, of course, is that there are institutions already created to help people; they're called governments. And the leadership of these governments are decided by the people they are supposed to help. Animals don't have the same voice and influence, so they need people like animal advocates to look after them.

BUT where do we draw the line? Should a person have a "say" over how another person treats his pet? Should pets be considered "private property?" If livestock owners are permitted to kill animals for meat, why are pet-owners not allowed the same freedom? Can pet shops guarantee that the animals they sell are properly taken care of?

I personally can't claim to know the answer to all these questions, since I am not an animal expert. However, I believe that raising these issues in a film will create a platform - an event - that would invite experts, enthusiasts, and animal lovers to express their knowledge, their beliefs, and their reasons for fighting for the rights of the animals they love.

It is for that reason that we'd like to pursue this project. We want a film that attempts to put the relationship between people and animals in the spotlight, so that we, as a community, can find answers to these difficult questions together.

The title of the film is a.ni.mál, because this film will be about the issue of animal rights, and also about the human "animals" that hurt pets for fun, profit, and pleasure.

-- Dustin Celestino, Writer & Director of a.ni.mál