Her Name Was Europa

Aurochs is the name given to the wild ancestor of modern cattle. The aurochs has the distinction of being the first documented case of extinction. The last known wild aurochs died in the Jaktorów Forest in Poland in 1627. Hunting and the introduction of domesticated cattle led to their decline and disappearance. Their value, however, derived not just from them being a source of sustenance. Traits that were attributed to the animal, such as speed, strength, and courage, imbued it with great symbolic power. Some of their body parts were ascribed with supernatural powers. The skin of the forehead and a cross-shaped bone inside the heart were prized for their magical properties. Those who carried them became possessors of the animal’s traits. In the 20th century efforts to bring back the Aurochs from extinction began to materialize.

"Although aurochs, the ancestors of today’s cattle, died out in the 17th century, some people have tried to resurrect these legendary, prestigious beasts. Lutz Heck, a German zoologist and friend of Hermann Göring with whom he shared a love of hunting and the dream to repopulate Europe’s forests with these horned creatures, tried to do so. Using manipulated photos, sliding intertitles onto transparencies in a documentary approach whose seriousness is the guarantee of a tacit but profound critical irony, the meticulous filmmaking duo takes us through the illustrated works of this idiosyncratic savant. But they also introduce us to some modern-day scientists from the Netherlands who share a similar dream. A meditation on celluloid (another endangered species) about survival, this film, to the delight of viewers, never shies away from the (albeit ghostly) powers of beauty."
(Jean-Pierre Rehm - FIDMarseille)