Lea Hartlaub's sr. illustrates the wide spectrum of global human activity through a recurring giraffe motif. The film's title "sr," refers to the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for giraffe, the oldest ancestor of which walked the earth 20 million years ago. Through the giraffe, Hartlaub explores myths, fables, biology, and human history, deliberately avoiding the anthropomorphic and anthropocentric clichés common in contemporary nature documentaries. The animal is therefore not the central figure, but rather ties these themes, histories, and human activities together.
Lea Hartlaub is a German director, cinematographer, and editor. Through an array of genres, formats, and approaches, essayistic as well as conceptual, she makes captivating films and diverse video installations. In sr, Hartlaub employs 91 distinct narrative tableaus across 30 global locations. It transports viewers through world history via a serene Pacific island to a bustling New York reading room, to a remote runway in Niger and beyond. Through these 16 fragmentary episodes, sr. offers incisive observations on diverse political and societal conditions, theoretical discourses, creative endeavors, and the mundane realities of daily life. As a beautifully crafted essay film, Sr. blends poetic reflection and inquiry, making it as compelling as the majestic animal that inspired it.