SHORT #12
OF 15
95TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 2023 OSCARS CHALLENGE
“The ELEPHANT WHISPERERS”
MARCH 4, 2023
NETLFIX
DAY 40
OF 48
Best Documentary Short Film
Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
Animal documentaries have a habit of bringing awareness that most animals are much more intelligent than we give them credit. “The Elephant Whisperers” does this with the South Indian elephants, showing a young elephant’s capacity for affection and learning. Bomman and Bellie are a couple that has devoted their lives to raising orphaned elephants. No one in this region has been as successful at elephant rearing as they are. They treat the elephant, Raghu, like their child, spending their days bathing, feeding, and playing with the animal. Seeing an elephant kicking a soccer ball is not only amusing to watch but is a perfect example that there’s more to these creatures than mindless grazing and animal instinct. Visually, the documentary short is brilliant, with stunning wide shots of the surrounding area, beautiful night shots of the family together, and an impeccable eye for captivating shot compositions.
PREVIOUS NOMINATIONS
Kartiki Gonsalves
| First-time nominee |
Guneet Monga
| First-time nominee |
Bomman and Bellie, a couple in South India, devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu, forging a family like no other that tests the barrier between the human and the animal world.
Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves
Netflix
December 8, 2022
41 minutes
ACCOLADES
DOC NYC Awards — Best Short Documentary (Nominee)
Gold List Awards — Best Documentary Short (Nominee)
International Documentary Association Awards — Best Short Documentary (Nominee)
EXPERT PREDICTIONS
1. “The Elephant Whisperers”
2.“How Do You Measure a Year?”
3. “Stranger at the Gate”
4. “The Martha Mitchell Effect”
5. “Haulout”
PERSONAL PREDICTIONS
1. “The Elephant Whisperers”
2. “Haulout”
3. “Stranger at the Gate”
4. “The Martha Mitchell Effect”
5. “How Do You Measure a Year?”
