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Kenya, 2050. The reserve has dwindled to half its size, under pressure from farmers who have enlarged their territory at the expense of the animals. Among the latter, the last giraffe just died. To be able to admire this fabulous beast again, you’d have to go back to 2016, when it became clear that the biggest living land animal was threatened with extinction due to poaching and loss of habitat. Thanks to some spectacular images of this enchanted place with its abundant biodiversity, this film offers a new type of documentary experience, to understand how this symbol of the African continent could end up disappearing from the planet. By imagining its future, it reveals to us the reality of life in the wild and the daily life of this animal, few of which reach adulthood. We follow in the footsteps of Twiga's family, one of the last baby giraffes, who attends helplessly at the death of his mother. A heartfelt tribute to this mammal whose unique anatomy continues to fascinate.
Status
Released
Original Language
FR
Inspired by the true story of the first giraffe to visit France, Zarafa is a sumptuously animated and stirring adventure, and a throwback to a bygone era of hand-drawn animation and epic storytelling set among sweeping CinemaScope vistas of parched desert, wind-swept mountains and open skies. Under the cover of darkness a small boy, Maki, loosens the shackles that bind him and escapes into the desert night. Pursued by slavers across the moon-lit savannah, Maki meets Zarafa, a baby giraffe – and an orphan, just like him – as well as the nomad Hassan, Prince of the Desert. Hassan takes them to Alexandria for an audience with the Pasha of Egypt, who orders him to deliver the exotic animal as a gift to King Charles of France.
