A Place Without People: Tanzania tells the story of the eviction of the indigenous people from their lands in Tanzania to clear space for the creation of the world's most famous nature reserves. In Tanzania, one of the world’s poorest nations, the government, tourist industry, and conservation organizations have advanced the idea that Africans are intruders into what was once a pristine Garden of Eden.

The film describes how prior to World War II, the land of the Maasai was seized by British colonialists to set aside for their own sport—hunting. But as game grew scarce in the 1950s and ‘60s, the British began to prioritize preservation and turned the Serengeti into a vast national park. Although there was no evidence that local people threatened wildlife, it was decreed that “no men, not even native ones, should live inside its borders.”

The film explores how Western perceptions about nature have evolved through time and how these perceptions radically altered this East African landscape and the culture of its natives. From the famous wildlife reserves of the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro to the remote mountains of Mahale, the documentary gives voice to the indigenous people who continue to be antagonized and excluded as the tourist industry rapidly depletes the area's water and other natural resources.

“A Place without People is a beautiful, chilling, important piece of documentary film-making. It illustrates the inherent contradictions between preservation and tradition; if possible, it could make even more strongly the point that ‘parks’ and ‘conservation’ and ‘wildlife’ are Western concepts, imposed with . . . colonial certainty and impunity. . . Many Americans are aware of, and care about, the animals of Africa. Fewer are aware of, or care about, the native peoples. And fewer still realize how Western ideas and interests—from conservation to recreational killing—are threatening both.
‒Anthropology Review Database