Digibeta

Chandani: The Daughter of the Elephant Whisperer

Arne Birkenstock

Chandani wants to be an elephant trainer like her father and grandfather before her, but no woman has even had the job. This engaging documentary follows Chandani as she breaks new ground in following her dream.

DIRECTOR
Arne Birkenstock
YEAR
2010
COUNTRY
Germany / Sri Lanka
RUNTIME
87 minutes
FORMAT
Digibeta

Chandani’s great-great-grandfather was a mahout, an elephant trainer. The skills are usually passed down to the sons, but Chandani has no brothers and she wants the job. In this documentary film that feels like fiction, Chandani breaks with tradition and challenges everyone’s beliefs that a girl cannot train an elephant. Her father brings her a baby elephant and she eagerly takes up the challenge of getting him, and herself, ready to ride in the Perahera, a noisy festival where decorated elephants are paraded through the town. An engaging and dramatic story, this film will have your kids asking for an elephant for their next birthday. Winner of the LOLA award for Best Children’s Film (Germany). Ages 8+

Chandani: The Daughter of the Elephant Whisperer
Chandani: The Daughter of the Elephant Whisperer
Chandani: The Daughter of the Elephant Whisperer

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