Documentaries are among my favorite films.

Generally, they are labors of love, without big budgets are big stars to draw audiences.

This small-budget movie, “The Life of a Cat Trapper (The First Trap Neuter Release Movie Ever!)” will touch the hearts of anyone who watches it. It’s exactly what a documentary should be: It creates awareness, educates, and encourages viewers to help make communities better for cats and people alike.

The new documentary is one of Cristian Ruben’s “I Film Heroes” productions about animal rescue. Ruben is in the movie himself. He introduces us to what we’re about to see, and provides some dismal statistics about cats in the United States – for example, there are an estimated 58 million “community cats” in this country.

The idea of the film is to educate and support trap, neuter and return (TNR) initiatives.

We ride along with Ruben and cat-trapper Sue, with Good Mews Animal Foundation in Marietta, Georgia. She prepares traps, food and gives explanations for each part of the trap process.

“The cycle is never-ending, and watching just one person do it all is exhausting on its own,” Ruben says. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to repeat this process daily.”

He ensures we understand all the hard work involved in just setting up the trap. Sue uses a drop trap, good for catching kittens and stubborn cats that normally won’t go into a trap, she says.

We watch as Sue does indeed trap several homeless felines and take them for their checkups and surgeries the next day. She then returns the cats to the communities where they live and often are fed by residents there.

Some of the cats are true feral cats – born in the wild and un-socialized. A community cat can be a feral or a stray that lives its life outdoors, she says. A socialized stray cat may be friendly but still may not be suitable for indoor life. The program at least allows the animals to have a chance at life rather than be euthanized.

I loved watching this no-frills movie not only because of the filmmaker’s passion for helping animals, but also because of Sue’s dedication and the way Ruben shows us the entire process, from start to finish.

Those who support animal rescue and cats in general will appreciate this up-close look at the dedication of one trapper. I hope Ruben’s film influences others to follow Sue’s lead.

This review is dedicated to Willie and Daisy, who are strays no longer.

Running time: One hour.

Rated: Unrated.

4 stars

Watch the entire movie free here: