The Documentary: The Woman Who Loves Giraffes
The Director: Alison Reid
The Story: Dr. Anne Innis Dagg re-traces the steps of her groundbreaking 1956 journey to South Africa to study giraffes in the wild - and discovers a startling contrast between the world of giraffes she once knew and the one it has become.
The Review:
These are the types of stories we really need to see right now. Stories of discovery and achievement that never really saw the light of day for one reason or another. Stories that went untold because of who people were and how they fit, or didn't fit, into a community and culture that was set up to be quite exclusive. Director Alison Reid has painted a beautiful portrait of Canadian zoologist Anne Innis Dagg, a woman who pioneered the study of giraffes in Africa, she literally wrote the book on the topic, as well as her struggles being a woman in the scientific and education communities of her time.
"I should thank my mother for allowing me to be a person instead of a woman."
Reid does a great job of allowing viewers to really get to know Ms. Dagg through historical videos of her first time in Africa and all the way up to current interviews and footage of her eventual return to where the incredible journey began. The story is truly inspirational as it sheds light on a topic and a time period where humanity really needed to learn how much of an impact it was having on the world in so many different ways and should be essential viewing for anyone interested in human rights, women's rights, animal rights, conservation, zoology, and giraffes in particular.
The Woman Who Loves Giraffes is an official selection of the 2019 Seattle International Film Festival.
To see more reviews, interviews and festival coverage please go to:
TwoOhSix at SIFF 2019
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