The “Elephant Queen” Coast Tour
By Mwakwaya Raymond
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
A new film on elephant conservation was exhibited nationwide starting with Mombasa County.
The initiative, Mobile Cinema and Outreach Programme, on that begun on Friday of Novembers 12 exhibit the ‘The Elephant Queen’ at various centres in Mombasa including Changamwe, Shanzu where hundreds of locals had a chance to watch it.
Currently the Elephant Queen is being shown in Kwale County before showing in other regions. The objective is to inspire Kenyans of all ages towards an appreciation and understanding of elephants and the environment.
This family-friendly multi-award winning Kenyan feature documentary is filmed in the greater Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem.
It tells a stirring and intimate story of the most majestic and sentient animals in Africa. It stars the ultimate leading lady – Athena – an elephant matriarch who will do everything in her power to protect her family when they are forced to leave their waterhole.
The film, which celebrates Kenya’s extraordinary wildlife and biodiversity has won, amongst many accolades, the Cinema for Peace Award, the UN World Wildlife Day Biodiversity Award and Best Cinematography at DOC NYC.
Making the film took a small dedicated team lead by Directors Mark Deeble & Victoria Stone and Assistant Director Etienne Oliff, ten years. In that time elephants descended into crisis.
What the filmmakers observed – the poaching for ivory, the increasing human-wildlife conflict and the loss of elephant rangelands, convinced them that more is needed to be done hence the creation of ‘The Elephant Queen Outreach Program’..
