In an attempt to film and get closer to the animal world, Kartikeya visits the Prague Zoo and turns to his mother, a zoologist of strict scientific discipline, for guidance. What begins as an exercise in documentation gradually becomes an increasingly unstable and emotional experience: a gorilla reacts with trauma to the presence of the camera, penguins seem disturbed by their own shadows, and an anaconda suffers from insomnia. The distances between observer and observed, human and animal, mother and son become increasingly blurred. The film returns to the viewer a sense of ethical responsibility and a complex sharing of the living world, making them aware of the effects of their gaze and of animal vulnerability.

Kartikeya Saxena is an Indian filmmaker and cinematographer. Amma, do giraffes cry? is his debut film, premiered at Visions du Réel and nominated for the 2026 Doc Alliance Award for Best Short Film.