PEPE
Dir. Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias | Dominican Republic, Namibia, Germany, France | 2024 | 122 min | Afrikaans, Mbukushu, Spanish, German | subtitles in English, Lithuanian
SKALVIJA: December 5th and December 7th
A voice that claims to be of a hippopotamus. A voice that doesn’t understand the perception of time. This docudrama, awarded with Silver Bear for directing, imagines the inner life of Pepe, an African-born hippopotamus that belonged to the cocaine king’s private menagerie until the animal escaped and was shot in 2009 on the orders of state authorities. Through voice-overs, Pepe recounts his terrifying voyage from home across the Atlantic – ‘a river with only one shore’ – and the bewildering experiences that led him to become the first hippo killed in the Americas.
“Dominican artist Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias has successfully tried to imagine what the voice of a hippopotamus would sound like and what it would talk about if it were asked after death to reflect its life, which had been heavily influenced by human activity. This formally impressive attempt offers the viewer an empathetic perspective that unfolds while floating in the waters of a foreign country in complete obscurity. To succeed in such an endeavour requires a visionary imagination that defies the rules of drama. Pepe doesn’t state truths, but evokes a series of thoughts about invasive species, colonialism’s aftermath and ecological threats.”
– Aistė Račaitytė
Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear
