Content Details
The Edge of Existence
Duration: 87′
Language: English
Production Year: 2017
Format: HD
Director: Charlie Luckock & James Suter
Origin: South Africa
SYNOPSIS
“The Edge of Existence” opens with a beautiful aerial shot of the African landscape. Ominous music accompanies military-style graphics superimposed on the drone shot, imprinting on the audience the uncomfortable fact that only a dirt road separates human settlements from a wildlife area. It is a reminder of the knife-edge division between civilization and wilderness in some parts of the world, and the increasing pressures that each place upon the other. Without much warning, the camera dives back to the ground and joins a funeral, following people as they mourn a member of the village killed by an elephant. It’s a frantic scene, and the handheld camera latches onto one of the subjects of the film as it traces the harrowing evidence of the animal trampling its victim. Images of dried blood and cries of anguish make it abundantly clear that the filmmakers do not intend to soften the severity of the situation, or their topic..