'Death of a President' lights up the blogosphere in advance of its Toronto Film Festival premiere.

A new film mixing archival footage and computer-generated special effects to portray the fictional assassination of President George W. Bush will premiere Sept. 10 at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival — and is already kicking off a firestorm of controversy.

British filmmaker Gabriel Range said "Death of a President" — which is done in a retrospective documentary style that has been described as eerily real — is intended to be a thought-provoking critique of the current political landscape.

"It's a striking premise," Range conceded in a statement. "But it's a serious film which I hope will open up the debate on where current U.S. foreign and domestic policies are taking us."

In the film, President Bush prepares to deliver a speech to business leaders in Chicago, where he is confronted by a massive antiwar demonstration. Unperturbed, Bush goes ahead with the visit, but as he leaves the venue, he is gunned down by a sniper. While the nation mourns, the hunt for his killer — a Syrian-born gunman — swings into action. Range said he reviewed hundreds of hours of footage of Bush to make the film as realistic as possible.

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