Caring for the last white rhino

How do you stop an extinction? Kifaru, a feature-length documentary that follows a rhino caretaker unit in Kenya, shows how excruciating it is to attempt to answer this question.

The Global Film Series kicks off its fall 2019 season with a screening of Kifaru and a discussion with director and NC State alumnus David Hambridge, on Tuesday, Aug. 27 from 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. at the Witherspoon Student Center (2810 Cates Ave.) This event is free and open to the public, but please register here.

Kifaru follows the lives of two young Kenyan recruits who join Ol Pejeta Conservancy's rhino caretaker unit—a small group of rangers that protect and care for Sudan, the last male northern white rhino in the world. Spanning the course of the caretakers' first four years on the job, Kifaru allows viewers to intimately experience the joys and pitfalls of wildlife conservation firsthand through the eyes of these Kenyan rhino caretakers who witness extinction happening in real-time.

Writing in Hollywood Reporter, reviewer Justin Lowe says, “Kifaru, David Hambridge’s account of efforts to protect the only surviving northern white rhinos in the wild, arrives at a critical stage in the preservation of the species. Confronting the possibility of extinction through the eyes of a dedicated team assigned as Sudan’s caretakers adds another layer of urgency, transforming the film from competent conservation documentary into compelling real-life drama.”

Following the screening, Hambridge will join Dr. Marsha Gordon from NC State's Film Studies Department for a question-and-answer discussion with the audience. To learn more about the film, read an NC State News interview with Hambridge here.

This film is part of the Global Film Series, co-presented by the NC State Office of Global Engagement and the NC State University Libraries. This screening is sponsored by NC State's Film Studies Department.