Boston Palestine Film Festival 2008

The daily scramble of life in the town of Qalqiliya through the eyes of Palestine's one and only zookeeper, Dr. Sami Khader. Just 15 kilometers from Tel Aviv, Qalqiliya is completely fenced off from the rest of the world by Israel's security wall. Like the town itself, the Zoo has been hit hard by the conflict. Campbell accompanies the voluble and entertaining Dr. Sami on a mission to rescue two baboons from a run-down facility in Nablus. The degree of bureaucracy and checkpoint subterfuge they face turns an already bizarrely symbolic task into a flabbergasting exercise in absurdity. The Zoo is hilarious, heartbreaking, and infuriating all at once.

Hayden Campbell studied Film Making at the University of Canterbury Fine Arts Film School in New Zealand. He resides in New Zealand and is working on his next documentary film project.