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Maleika

Name: Maleika
Director: Matto Barfuss
Released: 2017
Duration: 105 min

Representation Score

4.0/10

Limited

2017

Director

Matto Barfuss

Runtime

105 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Maleika succeeds in subverting traditional wildlife documentary clichés by centering the narrative on maternal ability to act and familial resilience. Rather than focusing on predatory cycles, the film grants the cheetah subjects significant autonomy and individual struggle. The production avoids the colonialist 'explorer' lens often found in nature films. By immersing the viewer in the Masai Mara through a localized perspective, it respects the complexity of the African landscape. However, the film's scope is limited to biological processes. Because the subjects are non-human, it does not engage with human identity politics, such as LGBTQ+ or disability representation.

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Category Breakdown

Does Maleika have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses solely on biological survival and maternal lineage. There are no representations of non-straight or non-cisgender identities, nor any same-sex relationships.

How does Maleika portray gender?

Good

The narrative centers on the female cheetah mother, highlighting her role as the primary driver of the plot through her ability to act and protection of her cubs.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Maleika?

Excellent

Set in the Masai Mara, the film prioritizes a non-Western landscape. It avoids the colonial explorer cliché, offering an intimate, localized view of the African ecosystem.

How does Maleika represent religion and culture?

Fair

The film presents the environment as a space of complex morality. It avoids Westernized aesthetics, prioritizing the lived reality of the subjects over a curated spectacle.

Does Maleika include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no depictions of physical or neurodivergent disabilities. The focus remains entirely on the biological fitness and survival capabilities of the cheetah family.

Present on Screen

Centers on women's ability to drive the story and maternal protection, challenging the passive nature cliché.
Provides an intimate, localized view of the African ecosystem, avoiding colonialist perspectives.
Focuses on familial resilience and individual struggle, deconstructing predator/prey dynamics.

Limited or Absent

Limited engagement with human identity politics due to non-human subject matter.
Does not represent LGBTQ+ identities or neurodivergent experiences.

Official Synopsis

Maleika tells the incredible story of a cheetah mother and her six cubs: Martha, Malte, Mirelèe, Marlo, Mia and Majet. Set in the magnificent landscape of the Masai Mara natural reserve, the cheetah family experiences adventurous, difficult and funny moments in their fight for survival. Having accompanied her for 3 years, the artist, photographer and devoted conservationist Matto Barfuss allows his audience to take an unusually intimate look into the life of this extraordinary cheetah family.

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