Waiting For Giraffes

Qalqilya – a small town on the Westbank – borders with Israel and is surrounded for two-thirds by the so-called ‘Wall of Shame’. Its zoo is the only one in Palestine and is very popular in spite of its poor conditions. Many animals were lost in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, most dramatically the very popular giraffe couple.
Dr. Sami, the zoo’s vet, is determined to bring in new giraffes. To be able to, the zoo needs EAZA-certification, a membership which represents and links 340 zoos collaborating to improve education, research and conservation of animals. Its most important requirements are more space and more budget. But how to increase the space for animals in a town where even human beings are forced to live in a confined space? The restrictions imposed by Israeli laws and the internal political battle between Fatah and Hamas would make it almost impossible to develop the zoo any further. But still, the zoo is slowly improving thanks to the dream of one enthusiastic man, Dr. Sami.

 

This film is supported by:

 

Andrea Burla	Inge Lindquist	Laura Elting
Annebeth Kuster	Layla Lindquist	Livia de Stefanis
Bero Beyer	Mattias	1001 Italianen
Carlo Durante	Monica de Stefanis	Koen Streefkerk
Eline Chiara	Nissar Samsoor
Frank Grosheide	Coco van Egeraat
Frans Werlemann	Kelly Van Osch

 

Cast and Crew
director	Marco de Stefanis
length	52'

STATus
Development