Kherson: Human Safari - available to watch
By Odesa UNESCO City of Literature | Posted: Thursday Nov 13, 2025
The story of Kherson, Ukraine's most dangerous city, told by its people. Invasion, occupation. They protest. After liberation, come flood and fire. They rebuild. Now, drones hunt them in the streets. Still, they resist. But for how long?
To mark the third anniversary of Kherson’s liberation from Russian occupation, the documentary Kherson: Human Safari, directed by U.S. journalist Zarina Zabriskyis available to watch free on YouTube:🎥 Kherson: Human safari | How to survive when Russia is hunting you? | Documentary Film
Released in June 2025, Kherson: Human Safari chronicles the city’s full story since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion: from invasion and protests to occupation, liberation, shelling, and the catastrophic flood. The film exposes “human safari”: how Russian forces have used drones to hunt civilians, drop explosives and banned mines, and burn residential areas. These acts, described in a recent United Nations report, constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As President Zelenskyy announces a new counter-drone defense program for Kherson, and following Angelina Jolie’s visit to the city where she referred to Russia’s tactics as a “human safari,” the film underscores the urgency of protecting Kherson residents from evolving forms of warfare.
A Berlin screening of Kherson: Human Safari at the Doxumentale Film Festival, held as part of Freedom Week on November 14, will coincide with the anniversary, continuing to bring this story to international audiences and amplify solidarity with the people of Kherson.
The film has been endorsed by United24 (the official platform of the Office of the President of Ukraine), the Ukrainian Naval Forces and Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Kherson Regional Military Administration, U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Human Rights Dallas and the SMU Human Rights Program, and Razom for Ukraine.
Following its U.S. premiere in Dallas, Kherson: Human Safari has been screened in New York, Iowa, Riga, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Grenoble, Paris, Nantes, Lyon, Limoges, Bonn, Tallinn, and Melbourne, with forthcoming events in Berlin, Washington, D.C., Finland, Holland, and Spain.
Proceeds from the film have supported direct relief efforts in Kherson, including evacuations and relocation of families and animals, humanitarian aid delivery, and the purchase of drone detectors for civilian protection.
Kherson: Human Safari has received extensive international media coverage, including Times Radio (UK), The Dallas Morning News (US), Huffington Post Italy, Le Monde, SBS Australia, Latvian Public Media, and national Ukrainian outlets, including Ukrinform, United24, Suspilne Kherson, Ukraine World, Detector Media, and Euromaidan Press.
The film, originally subtitled in English, has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Slovak, and Latvian, and will now air on Freedom with subtitles in Arabic, Polish, Turkish, Russian, and Portuguese.
“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
“I'm asking everyone to watch this documentary: Zarina Zabrisky's inside view of a city under constant siege... It's remarkable.” — Jen Stout, award-winning author (Night Train to Odesa).