The Elephant Queen is a wildlife documentary which offers a unique blend of genres. This is because the animals you’ll see in this feature aren’t just described; they’re the stars of the show.
This narrative comes from filmmakers Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone, who used their combined 60 years of experience in creating wildlife documentaries to produce this one.
The two filmmakers spent 25 years living in the East African bush, which made them well prepared for creating the story of The Elephant Queen.
So who is the Elephant Queen? Athena is the elephant matriarch who looks after her family in the waterhole they call home. When their supply starts to dry up, Athena has to take her family on a perilous trip across dangerous landscapes to seek refuge until the rainfall returns.
Viewers will see a jaw-dropping landscape comprising grasslands and woodlands with seasonal waterholes dotted in between. There also aren’t just elephants in this documentary, as the ‘supporting cast’ is made up of a number of species who contribute to the ecosystem.
You can expect to see footage such as dung beetles fighting over pachyderm excrement, bird migration and killifish laying eggs designed to be carried in mud baked into elephant skin.
This feature is directed by Deeble and Stone, and produced by Stone and Lucinda. Deeble takes on the role of both cinematographer and writer. The music is from Alex Heffes, and the narrator is Chiwetel Ejiofor.
The Elephant Queen was an official selection in both the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
The Elephant Queen is available from November 1 on Apple TV+. The streaming service is priced at $4.99 a month after a seven day free trial.
