One Lucky Elephant

Synopsis

The World Premiere of ONE LUCKY ELEPHANT at the L.A. Film Festival played to sold-out crowds and attracted Lily Tomlin, Academy Award-winning director, Kathryn Bigelow and actress Persia White (Girlfriends). The film begins with circus producer David Balding’s realization that Flora, the orphaned African elephant he adopted and made the star of his circus, is tired of performing. What unfolds is a nine-year odyssey to find Flora a good home. Caught between the human and animal world, Flora epitomizes the harsh reality elephants face in our expanding man-made world. Through Flora and David’s story, the film raises questions about our complex relationships with animals, for which there are no easy answers. One thing is certain: after watching this film, you will never look at an elephant in a zoo or a circus in the same way again.

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Credits

OWN/Sandbar Pictures

Executive Produced by Lizzie Friedman and Greg Little/Sandbar Pictures

Produced by Crossover Productions

Co-Produced by Miriam Cutler

Directed by Lisa Leeman

Edited by Kate Amend and Tchavdar Georgiev

Original Score by Miriam Cutler

Awards & Festivals

ONE LUCKY ELEPHANT screened at film festivals all over the world including IDFA, WOODSTOCK, DOCAVIV

Theatrical premier at the FILM FORUM in NYC

OWN Broadcast Premier 2011

James Lyon Best Doc Editing Award, 2010 Woodstock Film Festival

One of 18 films chosen by the American Documentary Showcase to represent the US State Department with documentary diplomacy abroad 2011

Reviews

"A parable of pachydermish proportions, One Lucky Elephant is a bittersweet story of man, beast and a very real relationship that makes helmer Lisa Leeman's docu the thinking person's "Dumbo" --and, coincidentally, one of the better kids' movies on the fest circuit. ... Miriam Cutler's score is tops, always moving and emotionally precise." ~ John Anderson, Variety (read the whole review)

"Bottom Line: A timely, emotionally engaging look at interspecies bonds."~ Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter (read the whole review)