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The Auroch or Uruz is a species of wild cattle that inhabited regions of Europe, Asia and North Africa.
It is considered the ancestor of current domestic cattle and is the first case of extinction to be documented, as a consequence of the high hunting as well as the introduction of modern cattle. The decline and extinction of the last wild aurochs is believed to have occurred in 1627 in the Jaktorów forest, Poland. Although the Auroch is considered a food source, it is distinguished by its physical traits such as strength, speed, endurance and courage. However, these physical traits are intertwined with symbolic powers, derived from a superstition associated with certain members of the animal elements such as the skin of the skull and a cross-shaped bone near the heart being coveted for their magical and supernatural properties.
Her Name Was Europa is Juan David González Monroy and Anja Dorniden’s first feature film and explores, with a clinical eye, the modern attempt to resurrect the aurochs from eternal extinction. (Inês Lima Torres)
