Conserving conservation and development. UK-China Film Collab to co-organise and participate in “2023 World Elephant Day Dialogue”.
World Elephant Day (August 12) was created in 2011 by Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims and Thailand’s Elephant Reintroduction Foundation and first celebrated on August 12, 2012. The initiative was greatly supported by film star and Star Trek legend William Shatner who narrated the documentary Return to the Forest, a fascinating 30-minute film about the reintroduction of captive Asian elephants to the wild.
The motivation for the first World Elephant Day was to draw attention to the plight of these majestic creatures to populations and cultures all over the world. Due to their pleasant and intelligent nature, the world’s largest land animals are loved worldwide.
This is the second year that we are participating in a conference co-organised by Green TERRE Foundation, EPI Foundation, Ape Alliance, Ecoflix, BGI and China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF). The theme for this year’s conference is “Elephantine Challenge: Converging Conservation and Development ”, proposed by Rajendra Shende.
We will be contributing to the conference by hosting a thematic panel.
Calling for Filmmakers
This year we have proposed a panel as part of the conference.
Making films with/about elephants, insights by filmmakers
Moderator: Dr Hiu Man Chan, Founder & Director of UK-China Film Collab
About the Panel:
This panel aims to gather international filmmakers who have worked with elephants or made films about the elephants. By sharing their insights and experience, the panel wishes to facilitate another perspective on elephant protection from aspects of filmmaking. This panel will also be a learning experience for the filmmakers, by listening to other reports in the conference. Learning about works done by NGOs on the ground can inspire them to produce and create better content to support the ethos that the World Elephant Day advocates.
If you are interested in joining this panel, please contact Dr Chan directly via h.m.chan (a) ukchinafilm.com.
What Did We Do in 2021?
in 2021, in order to celebrate the World Elephant Day, working closely with China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Fund, we proudly co-produced a video installation at the new metro station in Kunming Yunnan, to raise more awareness about elephant conservation.
