Safari

Ulrich Seidl's 2016 documentary follows German and Austrian tourists taking part in hunting safaris in Africa. The camera records them hunting, posing after the kill and talking over dinner; no comment is offered. Seidl's method is static, symmetrical framing; the people speak to the camera and explain their own reasoning. That neither defends nor accuses the hunters; the viewer constructs what their words mean. The hardest section is local workers butchering the animals and the invisibility of that labour. Real animal deaths are shown. Who it's for: viewers who take on difficult documentaries and are interested in Ulrich Seidl's method. Who it's not for: anyone avoiding images of animals being killed, or wanting an explicit critical position.