A silhouette of an elephant stands majestically on grassy terrain against a dramatic sunset sky. The vibrant orange and yellow hues, contrasted by dark clouds, create a striking backdrop that highlights the elephant's graceful profile.
Close-up of two elephants gracefully touching trunks, showcasing a tender interaction. One elephant's prominent tusk stands out against the natural outdoor backdrop of blurred trees.
A young elephant with large ears and a muddy body raises its trunk playfully. The blurred green background hints at a lush, grassy environment. Its small tusks peek out slightly, capturing the charm of this delightful creature in its natural habitat.

Soul of the Elephant

Nature & Wildlife·1 x 53 min·Completed

Journey into the life of an African elephant, from ancient migrations to fierce battles, as Dereck and Beverly Joubert unveil the emotional legacy of these gentle giants.

Factsheet

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information
Unblock content Accept required service and unblock content
Genre
Nature & Wildlife
Duration
1 × 53 min
Definition
HD
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
Back to all projects

Synopsis

Additionally available in French

As the largest living terrestrial mammals, elephants are usually considered as survivors under even the most dire climatic conditions.
But all too often, these majestic giants are killed illegally for their ivory tusks. So, every dead full-grown elephant, whose carcass or skeleton is found with the tusks still in it, is a symbol of paradise – an elephant allowed to die of natural causes instead of bullets, snares or poison.

Renowned wildlife filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert take us on a journey back in time. The encounter with a dead elephant is the starting point: Who was this elephant, and what was his life like? A series of key point flashbacks help determine what this giant creature might have been, and to relive some of the stories he may have experienced.

Great migrations for water reveal ancient paths, etched into the sand over generations. Recurring conflicts with lions and hyenas show the elephant its own growing strength. Nonetheless, there’s a very special case of lions that are actually on the hunt for the grey giants – by night, a pride of these big cats dare to attack elephants that have gathered at a water hole.

The primary location of this film is the secluded Selinda Reserve in Botswana, north of the Okavango, where over 9,000 elephants live today as part of Botswana’s total elephant population of 120,000 pachyderms.

Elephants are amongst the few sentient beings with which we share this planet. They are considered one of the smartest animals, along with dolphins and chimpanzees. This film focuses on the behaviour that makes elephants unique. Elephantine greetings are next to silent communications: these giants use infrasound calls to communicate over long distances – extreme low frequencies, inaudible for the human ear. But there’s much more: clans gathering in thousands, herds collectively looking after a struggling baby while old bulls are fighting to the death. The joy of birth is closely linked to mourning rituals for their dead – this is when elephants weep.

Exploring the endless possibilities and starting from a pile of bones, this documentary shows what one old elephant may have witnessed during the course of its long life.

Spectacular and grand elephant portraits in the vast, wild landscapes of Botswana are complemented with intimate insights into what makes those magnificent animals what they are. Looking at the world through pachydermial eyes, we will come to understand what it takes to live an elephant’s life.

Team

Written and directed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert
Executive producers Ivo Filatsch, Sabine Holzer
Production companies A Production of Wildlife Films and THIRTEEN Productions LLC in co-production with Terra Mater Factual Studios in association with France Télévisions

Awards & Recognitions

Chicago, USA US International Film & Video Festival Gold Camera (Category: Nature, Wildlife) 2017
Chicago, USA US International Film & Video Festival Gold Camera (Category: Craft/Production Techniques: Cinematography) 2017
Chicago, USA US International Film & Video Festival Silver Screen (Category: Environment, Ecology) 2017
Albert, France FIFA - Festival International du Film Animalier d'Albert Special Jury Award 2017
Tokyo, Japan Japan Wildlife Film Festival Nomination 2017
Wyoming, USA Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Nomination (Category: Best Writing) 2017
Tehran, Iran Iran International Green Film Festival Nomination 2017
Bois-de-Villers, France FINN - International Nature Namur Festival Nomination 2017
New Delhi, India WIFF - Woodpecker Film Festival Best Film Award (Category: Forest and Wildlife) 2016
Lihula, Estonia Matsalu Nature Film Festival Grand Prix 2016
Vaasa, Finland Wildlife Vaasa International Nature Film Festival 1st Prize (Category: Environment & Conservation) 2016
Deauville, France Deauville Green Awards Golden Green Award (Category: Preservation of the Biodiversity) 2016
Gödöllö, Hungary International Nature Film Festival st place (Category: Documentaries on nature protection and conservation - television productions/Independent films) 2016
Graz, Austria Mountainfilm Graz Nomination 2016
Athens, Greece International Science Film Festival Athens Nomination 2016
Rotterdam, Netherlands Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam Nomination 2016
New York, USA News & Documentary Emmy® Awards Nomination (Category: Outstanding Nature Programming) 2016
Innsbruck, Austria Innsbruck Nature Film Festival Nomination 2016
Beijing, China Beijing International Film Festival Nomination (Category: Best Feature Documentary) 2016
New York, USA International Elephant Film Festival Nomination (Category: African Voices) 2016
Distributor

Talk to our Distributor

Interested in licensing and watching the full production? Contact our distributor here.

Get in touch
Footage rights

Licensing & Usage

Interested in licensing or footage usage?
Contact us directly.

Get in touch

In the same Genre