Horrifying death of film-maker headbutted by giraffe on safari

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: AWARD-WINNING FILM DIRECTOR CARLOS CARVALHO WAS TRAGICALLY KILLED BY A SINGLE HEADBUTT 07:00, 03 Jun 2025 Carlos Carvalho, an award-winning film director, died

after being headbutted by a giraffe while working at a South African safari lodge. The 47-year-old was filming at Glen Afric farm in Broederstroom when the giraffe, Gerald, swung its neck,

knocking him to the ground. Carlos, who was shooting close-up shots of Gerald at the time, was airlifted to a Johannesburg hospital but tragically succumbed to his injuries that night.

Richard Brooker, whose family owns the lodge, stated the giraffe would not be put down as it was not deemed to be a danger. "Gerald will remain at the lodge. He did nothing wrong,"

he told The Telegraph. A spokesperson for the lodge suggested that Carlos had strayed from the group and ignored safety instructions not to approach the animals. A member of the film crew,

Drikus Van Der Merwe, who was standing next to Carlos during the incident on May 2, 2018, said: "The giraffe started chasing the boom swinger who joined our unit." In a statement

to The Sun, he said: "We didn't feel threatened because he just seemed to be inquisitive.", reports the Irish Star. Article continues below Nonetheless, the situation took an

unforeseen and tragic turn, culminating in the filmmaker's death just a few hours after. "We started shooting closeups of its body and its feet. Then while Carlos was looking

through the camera eyepiece Gerald swung his neck and hit him against his head. "It came out of the blue, and Carlos didn't even see it coming; he was oblivious to the imminent

risk. Even after witnessing such a shocking and violent moment, Drikus hoped his friend would pull through and did not anticipate the heartbreaking outcome. Reflecting on the incident, he

recounted: "I knew he had a severe head trauma. But I never thought he would die." Article continues below Carlos Carvalho, whose work earned him a prestigious Cannes Lion award

for a Public Service Announcement for South African Childline in 2003, also distinguished himself as the director of photography for The Forgotten Kingdom, the inaugural feature film made in

Lesotho. Following the sombre news, heartfelt homages have poured out on Facebook for the Johannesburg father-of-two, recognising him as an exceptional human being. Chris Roland expressed

his grief, saying: "Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Carlos Carvalho, a very nice guy and talented DOP [director of photography] I had the honour of working with twice. A

great loss to the industry. Farewell Carlos!". Thabiso Mohapi, a props master, said: "RIP my brother! Meeting and greeting you that morning at breakfast shooting the first scenes

of the morning didn't know it was our last time together."