The effects of the climate crisis – a drought that parches the once verdant grazing land – fan the flames of a tension that has been smouldering for generations in the central Kenya region of Laikipia. This essential documentary, shot over several years by film-makers Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi, explores the conflict between the Samburu people, a nomadic pastoralist community that has always grazed cattle and goats on the land, and the third and fourth-generation European settlers who own ranches and conservancies in the region and who protect their property with fences, bellicose curses and, as resources dwindle, guns. Handsomely photographed and shrewdly edited, the picture captures both the mounting tension and the arresting drama of the landscape. It’s a sober and balanced piece of film-making that allows both sides to voice their positions while acknowledging that there is no easy resolution for the situation.
In UK and Irish cinemas
