In
an unusual move for film production and distribution company A24, the studio
paired up with nature documentary filmmakers Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble and
with their production company created the documentary feature film The Elephant
Queen. Given a limited theatrical
run in October 2019, a month later the film landed exclusive distribution
through the streaming service Apple TV+.
While
the concept of films being tied to exclusive online distribution isn’t anything
new, for the new Apple TV+ application this is among the very first feature
length films to go on the platform.
Having recently done a trial run of the service, yours truly took a good
look at what is ostensibly one of the first cinematic offerings the streaming
service offered to consumers.
Narrated
by Chiwetel Ejiofor and aided by stunning nature photography, the film concerns
matriarch elephant Athena and her herd of elephants she tries to protect as
they leave their waterhole behind.
Following her herd, we’re introduced to her offspring including newborn
Mimi, a baby elephant too weak to forage for herself.
When
faced with having to migrate her herd away from their waterhole which is drying
up, the journey ahead presents a daunting 200-mile journey across Kenya in the
hopes of finding another waterhole. Soon
Athena is faced with the difficult choice of waiting for infant Mimi to catch
up or letting her whole herd face starvation.
Shot
over the course of four years, the project began when the filmmakers freely
admitted they never filmed elephants before as their documentary subject. The project first originated in 2009 when a
severe drought hit the country and threatened the existence of the elephant
population, a topic which immediately captured the attention of the
filmmakers. Upon entering Kenya, the
filmmakers then spent a long time locating the elephant Athena before turning
their cameras on the animals. The
resulting documentary film is full of scenic beauty, moments of genuine
heartbreak and extraordinary ability to make the elephants’ story relatable.
Currently
only available on the Apple TV+ service, The Elephant Queen is a
splendid addition to the documentary film landscape and offers an in-depth look
at the daily routine and uphill battles faced by the family of pachyderms. Apple TV+ still has a long way to go as an
original content creator and perhaps one day they will catch up to Netflix, Amazon
Prime or Hulu. For now however, The Elephant
Queen is a step in the right direction for the streaming service and is
visually one of the most breathtaking nature documentary films of the year!
--Andrew Kotwicki
