Kenya cheetah conservationists in Salt Lake

Carol Hopcraft, American-born-turned Kenyan conservationist and co-author of "How It Was With Dooms: A True Story From Africa," will be in Salt Lake City talking about the making of the film "Duma" and her work as a wildlife photographer and cheetah conservationist.

Her husband, Kenyan biologist/conservationist David Hopcraft, will talk about cheetah conservation and his pioneering work involving local communities in wildlife conservation.

As young parents, Carol and David adopted an orphaned cheetah cub, which they named Dooms and raised alongside their son, Xan. When Dooms (short for Duma, which means cheetah in Swahili) died, Xan was still a young boy, and in an effort to come to terms with his cheetah-friend's death, Xan co-wrote a book with his mother about life with Dooms. The book was adapted into the Warner Brothers film "Duma," directed by Carol Ballard ("Black Stallion," "Never Cry Wolf" and "Fly Away Home").

Both book and film tell the story of the unbreakable friendship between Dooms and the Hopcraft family. In a recent review, film critic Roger Ebert described the film as "ambitious and visionary" and was "touched by the film's beauty and (by) the bond between the boy and the animal."

The Hopcrafts will be in Salt Lake City to talk about the movie, the book and their ongoing work as wildlife conservationists.

Their visit is sponsored by the Salt Lake City Film Center's New Face of Africa Film Series and the Hogle Zoo's Cheetah Conservation Initiative.

The following events are part of the program:

Today the zoo will host a book and DVD signing at 4 p.m. in the zoo store. Carol Hopcraft will read "How It Was With Dooms" and sign books.

A general public screening will be held at the theater at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, fifth floor, at 7 p.m., followed by a Q&A with Carol and David Hopcraft and a representative from the zoo. The event is free and open to the public with suggested donations of $5. All proceeds will go to cheetah conservation.

On Saturday and Sunday there will be multiple screenings of "Duma" at the zoo in the air-conditioned Ed-zoo-cation Center. Screening times are noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

All guests attending the Friday evening screening will receive one free admission ticket to the zoo July 22-23. For more information on how to become a subscriber or to print out an e-mail, go to www.slcfilmcenter.org and click on "Duma."