Paris Screening — Kherson: Human Safari
It was standing room only Wednesday night at the Paris premiere of the Zarina Zabrisky-directed documentary about Russia’s war crimes in the southern port city of Kherson, Ukraine
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The director could not be there. The war crimes being committed by Russia in Kherson, Ukraine, resulted in the temporary closure of the southern port city’s main highway.
So Zarina Zabrisky was brought into the room after the screening of her film, Kherson: Human Safari, via Zoom on a laptop.
It took a few minutes to work out some technological glitches, so in the meantime, I was interviewed in the theater hosting the sold-out, standing room only, event.
The Écoles Cinéma Club in Paris’ Latin Quarter was filled with compassionate people, who came to see Zabrisky’s artful war film, a film that manages to be uplifting while also showing the brutal reality of this senseless war. The event raised $315 in donations to help purchase a drone detector.
As one of the film’s executive producers, I was interviewed about my thoughts on the film, the war, Trump’s America, genocide, and working with Zabrisky.
I explained that Zabrisky is more comfortable in a war zone than in the West, where too many people seem unaware of what is happening in Ukraine and its urgency for the rest of the world.
When asked about genocide, I quoted Marci Shore: how children under rubble anywhere is horrific.
If you read the definition of genocide, it’s clear that is what is occurring in Ukraine. I also found myself quoting Shore, when I said there was no reason for this war, and that the Russian soldiers should just go home. Then I found myself paraphrasing her husband, Timothy Snyder, when I said Putin can’t have a democracy next door, because the Russian people might get ideas.
I told the room that Trump is clearly a Russian asset and how Putin is an enemy of democracies everywhere.
I also had the opportunity to thank the people of France for their support of Ukraine and on a personal level, the people in the room, for their support of Zabrisky’s film. They were clearly moved by her document of life in Kherson, as people are terrorized by drones — physically and psychologically — suffering tremendous losses, but how they are made of such beautiful, resilient stuff. Each section of the film is opened with a remarkable, powerful dance sequence.
Among the guests at the screening were professors from the Sorbonne, a member of French Parliament, and many friends of mine, including family members. My heart swelled at the end credits, when I saw the number of Bette community members who pitched in to help make the film. Communities like ours make a profound difference. As I said in my interview, we can’t all do everything, but we can each do something — a great lesson from Anne Nelson.
Paris is inspiring in so many ways. When I walk through its lush parks, past its infinite cafes and ride its metro, people are reading books. A literate society is less easy to manipulate with targeted lies. Not impossible — and many are worried about France’s upcoming elections — but knowledge of facts acts as a defense to information warfare, building immunity. I learned that from a Ukrainian soldier, whose love of literature and history books thwarted attempts to manipulate his psyche with Russian lies. He sees right through Kremlin horseshit.
As a devotee of French cinema, I loved the moment when Zabrisky appeared on an event producer’s laptop so theatergoers could ask her specific questions related to the making of the film. It was so cinematic. She was able to direct people how to help Khersonians by going to the website she created for the film and choosing where best to send aid:
In addition to sending support, sharing the film is a vital way to help. As she told the gathered guests, there is still time to save Kherson.
Below, you will find more information about the film. If you would like to host a screening in your area, you will find contact information.
Kherson: Human Safari (72 min) is a frontline documentary by US war correspondent Zarina Zabrisky, filmed in Kherson, Ukraine. The film documents the city’s full story since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022: the occupation, resistance, liberation, flood, and continued destruction under daily attacks. The “human safari” — Russia’s use of drones to hunt civilians — is one part of this broader narrative of survival, resilience, and defiance.
The filmmakers opted for free online streaming and global screenings to raise awareness rather than waiting for distributor agreements or festival premieres, in view of the critical situation in Kherson.
Release Date: June 27, 2025
Official Website: www.khersonhumansafari.com
IMDb: Kherson: Human Safari
Endorsements
United24 (Official Platform of the Office of President of Ukraine))
U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur
Badge of Honor: The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs added Zarina Zabrisky to its official “stop list” for her reporting.
Screenings
August 2025
Dallas (hosted by Human Rights Dallas & SMU Human Rights Program)
Iowa City
Riga (hosted by Tavi Draugi)
Odesa (Press-only)
New York (hosted by Ukrainian Institute of America)
Grenoble, France (hosted by Mriya Grenoble)
Kherson, Ukraine (hosted by Kherson Drama Theater)
Bonn, Germany ( Bonnerkinmatech)
September-October 2025
Paris – Sept 3, 2025 (Centre Culturel de l’Ambassade d’Ukraine en France, Union des Ukrainiens de France, Pour l’Ukraine, Kalyna)
Lyon – Sept 15, 2025 (Assosiation Lyone-Ukraine)
Melbourne – Sept 15, 2025 (Ukrainian Australian Film Festival Committee, Embassy of Ukraine)
Washington, D.C. – Oct 2025 (Capitol Hill private screening)
Berlin – Nov 10–14, 2025 (Berlin Freedom Week, hosted by Be an Angel Charity)
Additional screenings: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Slovakia, Denmark, Iowa Writing Workshop, Dublin
Press Coverage
Times Radio (UK) – Times Radio Drive with John Pienaar, July 2, 2025
Dallas Morning News (US) – Aug 9, 2025
Latvian Public Media – Aug 20, 2025
Ukrinform – June 28, 2025
United24 – July 18, 2025
Suspilne Kherson– July 17, 2025, Sept 1 2025
Ukraine World – Aug 21, 2025
Detector Media – Aug 27, 2025
Euromaidan Press – Aug 22, 2025
Quotes
“This film is a call to the global conscience.”
— Hans Petter Midttun, former Defense Attaché of Norway to Ukraine“Zabrisky managed to convey the inner sense of what’s happening in the city and the overall mood of its people.”
— Bishop Nicodemus of Kherson and Tavria“A film which is heartbreakingly artistic, original, moving and too important to ignore.”
— Greg Palast, investigative journalist (NYT, BBC, The Observer)“This is not just documentation. It is an indictment. A monument. A wound carried forward.”
— Christopher Burgess, former CIA officer
Impact
Film proceeds supported direct relief in Kherson: evacuations and relocation of families and an animal shelter, humanitarian aid delivery.
EMPR Media – “American Journalist Zarina Zabrisky Turns Film Donations Into Lifeline for Evacuated Kherson Residents”
Contacts & Social Media
Facebook: KhersonHumanSafari
X/Twitter: @KhersonHumanSafari
Instagram: KhersonHumanSafari
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/khersonhumansafari.bsky.social
Press & Inquiries:
khersonhumansafari@gmail.com
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