When Elephants Were Young
| When Elephants Were Young | |
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Official festival release poster
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| Directed by | Patricia Sims |
| Produced by | Patricia Sims |
| Written by | Patricia Sims, Michael Clark |
| Narrated by | William Shatner |
| Music by | Bruce Fowler |
| Cinematography | Michael Clark |
| Edited by | Michael Clark |
| Distributed by | 20 Year Media/Emerging Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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86 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
When Elephants Were Young is a 2015 Canadian documentary film directed by World Elephant Day Co-Founder Patricia Sims and narrated by William Shatner. It follows the story of Wok and his young elephant Nong Mai, as they street beg in Bangkok until the opportunity comes to release the elephant to the wild. The film premiered at the Whistler Film Festival on December 5, 2015.
William Shatner narrates this story of a young man and his young elephant living together in Thailand. Twenty-six-year-old Wok has been caring for Nong Mai since she was three. Nong Mai is one of 35 captive elephants in Wok's village in north-eastern Thailand. The traditions of elephant keeping have been passed down from generation to generation, but they are quickly fading in the modern world.
Wok is Nong Mai's mahout, her keeper. Their tender bond reveals a complex relationship - most elephants in Thailand live with humans, despite their wild and potentially dangerous nature. Although it's illegal to street beg with elephants in Thailand, Wok and his family need the money. Mired in debt, street begging with Nong Mai has become the family business.
Leaving his village, Wok wanders the streets of Bangkok with Nong Mai, day after day, peddling sugar cane to people who want to feed the elephant. But only a few buy; many shun him. People increasingly believe that elephants do not belong in the city, in captivity, but should be in the wild, free. Some even scold him for dragging an elephant into the city, despite the poverty and lack of opportunity that cause the elephant business to persist.
The film explores the central role that elephants play in Thai culture - elephants have been ingrained in traditions and spirituality for thousands of years. Yet today, Asian elephants are facing extinction: they are an endangered species, with fewer than 45,000 Asian elephants left on earth. Most elephants in Thailand are forced into the $40-billion-a-year tourism trade. The film explains that illegal tusks are smuggled into the country, making Thailand one of the biggest markets for the global ivory trade. It also describes how the growing human population continues to trespass into elephant habitats. A century ago, more than 100,000 elephants roamed freely in Thailand's lush forests. Today, only 4,000 remain - 2,800 of which are captive.
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