Amma, Do Giraffes Cry?

synopsis

Indian director Kartikeya Saxena walks through Prague Zoo with his camera, sharing his impressions over the phone with his mother – a zoologist. The transcontinental conversation touches on the human tendency to project one’s own feelings and memories onto animals. However, the son’s poetic enchantment and his conviction that he has seen tears in the eyes of a baby giraffe clash with his mother’s scientific rationalism. This perceptive interspecies essay transforms the pavilions housing hippos, anacondas and gorillas into a theatrical stage upon which a quiet drama unfolds about overcoming barriers – between son and mother, and between the human and more-than-human.

“Giraffes don't have tear ducts. I don't know what you saw.”

biography

Kartikeya Saxena is an Indian director and cinematographer living in Prague, where he is completing his studies in film directing at FAMU. He comes from Rajasthan and, in his work – which straddles the line between fiction and documentary – he explores the intersections between human memory, ecology and landscape. His film Amma, Do Giraffes Cry? premiered at the Visions du Réel festival.

film details

director:	Kartikeya Saxena
producer:	Kartikeya Saxena
script:	Kartikeya Saxena
photography:	Ya Ching Yang
editing:	Shawrya Kumar
sound:	Devraj Bhaumik

contact

Petra Horká / FAMU
festivals@famu.cz