The Film: "Elephants-Breaking Boundaries"

This is a story of vision, struggle, hope, and one man’s dream to bring freedom to Africa’s elephants. The film is an extraordinary journey with Dr. Mike Chase, Motswana ecologist, raised in Africa’s harsh wilderness. He talks passionately of his dream to create a scenario he calls “Elephants Without Borders” - a system of contiguous migratory corridors - that could bring freedom for a hundred thousand elephants to range across Africa, along centuries-old trails that were once a lifeline before mankind drew lines on a map.

We are with Mike on his adventures, following him through the struggles and barriers that both he and the elephants have to face in search of new places for elephants to live. We follow his journey as he tracks collared elephants from Botswana through Namibia and Zambia to Angola’s southern wilderness. We follow the routes of three elephants Max, Bontle and Ntombo across the region, from the great northern rivers to the Okavango Delta, Tsodilo Hills and
across the hostile Magkadikgadi Salt Pans. Dramatic events unfold when these elephants encounter obstacles to their movements.

We come to share his extraordinary vision, to bring down the barriers which blockade traditional migration routes, to dissolve international borders, to open up new elephant havens, to help restore devastated war-zones, and lead the way for elephants to a new sanctuary, a trans-frontier conservation area without man-made borders. In time, elephants will become the gentle ambassadors, the iconic flagship species, for a whole new cycle of regeneration, in the midst of an Africa challenged by war, poverty, disease, and a heavy human footprint.

Elephants Without Borders, is an important contribution to understanding and respecting elephants and nature. The extraordinary imagery and the compelling and objectively presented information makes Elephants Without Borders essential viewing for anyone interested in natural history.

The Producers

The documentary was produced by Mike Holding and Tania Jenkins of Afriscreen Films for the BBC Natural History Unit and Animal Planet. Botswana based AfriScreen Films is a high-end natural history production and facilitation company specializing in African wildlife.

Afriscreen used state-of-the-art, high-definition cameras to capture Botswana’s vast and impressive natural features. The Heli-Gimble, a high-definition camera mounted at the base of a helicopter was used to capture the epic aerial scenes. The combination of high-definition cameras and unique photography beautifully enhance Botswana’s naturals and diverse landscapes.

Mike Holding’s exceptionally high level of cinematography makes this program stunning and inspiring. The film is visually appealing, portrays many facets of elephant life with excellent elephant footage, has superior graphics, powerful music and is intellectually stimulating. He managed to combine a historical perspective, good basic information, with clear, dramatic visuals making this film an excellent portrayal of Elephants Without Borders’s study on elephant movements.

Elephants Without Borders, the film

"Elephants Without Borders" has won second prize for Best International Contribution! at the NaturVision Film Festival, see
http://www.natur-vision.de/en/the-festival.html NaturVision is Germany's major international nature and wildlife film festival which presents outstanding new productions from around the world

Download or read the film review written by L. Pfotenhauer in April 2009's Peolwane magazine (click here)

“Elephants Without Borders” is being distributed internationally. Please be sure to watch for announcements regarding future dates and times!

In the USA, it is shown on The Animal Planet Network on Wild Kingdom, under the title "Elephants: Breaking Boundaries".
Consult your local listings for a time near you! Sneak preview video clips can be seen on:
http://animal.discovery.com/videos/elephants-breaking-boundaries-an-elephant-oasis.html
and
http://animal.discovery.com/videos/elephants-breaking-boundaries-saddest-elephant-ever.html

Viewers please be advised to keep a good lookout for more details here, on the internet, in your local listings, or subscribe here to our newsletter and we will let you know. Subscribe