ZARAFA

Descriptions

A film by Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie

Synopsis

This is the story of a friendship between a child, Maki, and Zarafa, an orphaned giraffe.
It is also a historical fact; the giraffe that the Pasha of Egypt offers to King Charles X of France in 1826.
Maki accompanies Zarafa on his journey between Alexandria and Paris. He never stops wanting to bring her back to Africa as he promised to Zarafa’s mother. They travel by balloon, cross the Mediterranean and then walk from Marseille to Paris, where Zarafa is a sensation to the king and his people. She is adulated then with the time, like all the modes, forgotten … Maki will have, after great sufferings, to leave her giraffe in her enclosure of the Jardin des Plantes. It is therefore without her that he will return to Africa, but will tell his story, to several generations of children.

Technical sheet

Title : Zarafa
Directors : Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie
Script and dialogues : Rémi Bezançon and Alexander Abela
Freely inspired by the true story of the giraffe offered by the Pasha of Egypt to the King of France in 1827
Adaptation : Rémi Bezançon, with the participation of Jean-François Halin and Vanessa Portal
From an original idea by Alexander Abela, Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Claude Jean
Graphic creation : Jean-Christophe Lie
Original music : Laurent Perez del Mar

With the voices of : Simon Abkarian, François-Xavier Demaison, Vernon Dobtcheff, Roger Dumas, Ronit Elkabetz, Fellag, Deborah François, Thierry Frémont, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Max Renaudin, Clara Quilichini, Mostefa Stiti

Producers : Valérie Schermann and Christophe Jankovic
Coproducer : Vivien Aslanian
Production director : François Bernard

Image gallery

News

Press review

02/07/15 – The New York Times | Nicolas Rapold
Une mise en scène historique fraiche et un regard feutré.
> Voir l’article

02/07/15 – The Dissolve | Tasha Robinson
Zarafa est un film renversant.
> Voir l’article

Biographies

Contacts

Production

Prima Linea Productions
30 boulevard Saint-Jacques, 75014 PARIS
Tel: +33 (0)1 53 63 23 00 | Fax: +33 (0)1 53 63 23 01
40 rempart Desaix, 16000 ANGOULEME
Mail: production@primalinea.com

Distribution film & video, France

Pathé Distribution
2 rue Lamennais, 75008 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 71 72 30 00 | Fax: +33 (0)1 71 72 32 60

Relations de Presse: Michèle Abitbol-Lasry et Séverine Lajarrige

Distribution film Allemagne : Alamode Films
Brésil : Imovision
Canada : Christal Films / Films Séville
Corée du Sud : Unikorea Co., Ltd
Danemark : Angel Films
Espagne : Sherlock Films
Italie : Good Films
Pays-Bas : Amstelfilm
Portugal : Lusomundo
Royaume Uni : Soda Pictures
Russie, Estonie, Lituanie, Ukraine : West Video
Turquie : Chantier Films
USA : GKids