Discovery Festival Favourite 2015 - Zarafa - School Screening

Loosely based on the tale of the very first giraffe to set foot in France, Zarafa (‘giraffe’ in Arabic) is an epic journey from 19th century Sudan to Paris by way of Alexandria, Marseille and the Alps. Ten year-old Maki escapes from a cruel slave trader and meets friendly giraffe Zarafa. When Zarafa is sent to Paris as a gift for the French King, Maki sets out to rescue her. Along the way he meets Bedouin princes, feisty Mediterranean pirates, a pair of very resourceful cows and a hippopotamus with a problem.

"Feels truly epic in scale..."

This beautifully crafted hand-drawn animation takes the spirit of classic Disney and adds a splash of contemporary humour and social comment to give it an appeal for the broadest of audiences. Although only 78 minutes long, it feels truly epic in scale and proved exceptionally popular with families at the French box office. Occasionally sad, often hilarious, Zarafa was a highlight of our festival back in 2015.

Dirs: Rémi Bezançon, Jean-Christophe Lie
France/Belgium 2012 / 1h18m / PG

Resources by Sheena Lusby

Available to stream or buy from Amazon Prime.

Please note this online version is dubbed into English, and not the original French language version as screened in the festival. DVD/BluRay formats are also available.