Zafari

“A dystopian fable and a grotesquely realistic picture of the Venezuelan crisis. The arrival of the hippopotamus Zafari at the zoo in Caracas sets the life of a middle-class apartment complex wobbling. First the zookeepers claim the right to bathe in the swimming pool. Then food and water grow scarce. Before long every moral idea crumbles. Zafari is superbly looked after; it is only the people around the hippopotamus who slowly turn into animals.

The Venezuelan writer, director, producer and visual artist Mariana Rondón has won many awards for her films. ‘Pelo Malo’ (‘Bad Hair’), also shown at 14 FILMS in 2013, won the Golden Shell in San Sebastián and the FIPRESCI Prize in Thessaloniki. ZAFARI had its world premiere to great success in San Sebastián.” (Filmfest München, translated from the German)

Shown at the 2025 edition of Around the World in 14 Films, Berlin.

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