Documentary takes on an issue of jumbo proportions

Documentary takes on an issue of jumbo proportions

Thai-American filmmaker goes back to her roots to explore the relationship between elephants and people living together in nature.

Filmmaker Narumol Sriyanond (centre) with an elephant vet and director of photography Padungsak Vaiyarat (right). (Building for Life photos)
Filmmaker Narumol Sriyanond (centre) with an elephant vet and director of photography Padungsak Vaiyarat (right). (Building for Life photos)

Narumol Sriyanond, a 62-year-old documentary filmmaker, has returned to the source of her childhood fascination for her latest project.

The 60-minute documentary, titled Elephants in Motion, directed and produced by Narumol, focuses on the story of people and elephants living in nature together.

The Thai-American director became familiar with the Thai forest as a child, often accompanying her father, a government official at the Forest Industry Organisation, to the woods in different parts of the country. It's also where she was first introduced to movie culture -- in the late 1950s, her father screened movies to villagers on weekends.

Narumol said her father often screened The Blob and The War of the Worlds outdoors in an attempt to urge villagers to pay more attention to sanitation.

"Back then rural people lived in a sort of primitive setting," she said.

"At age 12, I was a movie projectionist assistant. I don't recall exactly why he had the two movies, but the message was 'if villagers don't pay attention to their hygiene, the alien might take them away.' "

This sparked her interest in filmmaking. After graduating with a theatrical arts degree from Chulalongkorn University, Narumol received master's degrees in theatre and directing from West Virginia University in the US, where she also set up a theatrical troop to play likay, a traditional Thai dance and musical performance art, in English.

Later, she earned a master's and PhD from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, where she shared a classroom with Spike Lee. They met again 20 years later during a seminar organised by Variety magazine, during which Lee encouraged her to make movies that would have a positive impact on people.

"He said we have tools, power and experience to make movies like that," she said.

In 2007 she produced and directed a short documentary titled Thai Women: Challenging Aids. The film brought her recognition as a rising female documentary filmmaker.

But it is her latest project that brings her back to the forest, the origin of her fascination with filmmaking.

"I remember when a military helicopter landed in the middle of the forest," she recalled.

"Ground winds were blowing with waving grass. The scene was so dramatic. I wanted to make a movie to capture a scene like that."

The filmmaker began her career producing documentary films to raise awareness on women's rights for a non-profit organisation she founded, Building for Life.

SPARKING AN INTEREST

Her interest in Thai elephants was sparked in 2011 after reading about an orphaned wild elephant that broke away from the herd and fell off a cliff in a flash flood.

"I lived in Beverly Hills at that time when I saw the news on social media about the elephant," she said. "He was all alone." The villagers in Loei found him standing near a little cottage where they kept rice storage.

"As a wild elephant, nobody could get close to him." she said.

"National park vets tried to catch him. Somehow, he had a beautiful sense of survival. He came to recognise people. It's amazing that he was left to live in the human world. That's a magic story to me."

PASSIONATE SUBJECT: Narumol Sriyanond, the director of 'Elephants in Motion', a feature documentary about elephants in Thailand.

The elephant was later given the name "Boonlong", meaning lost merit.

Through this experience she learnt about the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, also part of the Forest Industry Organisation, in the northern province of Lampang.

Although Building for Life's original focus was on women's rights, she widened this to include elephant issues.

Narumol studied the differences between Thai elephants and others around the world.

She found that while African elephants largely lived in the wild, Thai elephants integrated more with Thai people.

"Elephants are part of Buddhist forest tradition," she said. "Thais live with nature to gain wisdom."

Historically, Thai people and elephants worked, played and observed traditions together -- elephants would not be used to log the forest during Buddhist religious days.

"Thai elephants participate in human rituals such as possession or ordination and they even take breaks, like people," she said.

"That is why it is important to tell people about the fascinating life of these animals and the bonding relationship between humans and elephants." The documentary also explores the transformation of elephant life and the Thai sanctuary for elephants.

Narumol, whose favourite feature documentary is March of the Penguins, said a love of the topic is the primary consideration for a filmmaker.

"You have to love, and be passionate about your subject," she said.

FACTUAL STORYTELLING

Narumol assembled a crew led by director of cinematography Padungsak Vaiyarat.

Padungsak is one of her proteges, having been a student during her time teaching film at Kasetsart University.

Padungsak said the team spent five years on the project, following the lives of elephants and mahouts all over Thailand. While most elephant trainers are Buddhists, Karens and Muslims also feature in the south.

"We didn't have a script," Padungsak said. "We followed them and filmed whatever happened to present factual storytelling."

"We think the honest and factual story is worth telling and beautiful enough," Narumol said.

Padungsak experienced a number of poignant moments during filming -- including witnessing the bond between a 53-year-old man, Mr Sui, and a handicapped elephant named Banpradap. The two grew up together and have been buddies for 50 years.

Mr Sui's father adopted Banpradap, an orphaned elephant from the jungle. The baby elephant had lost an ear and was blind in one eye, most likely attacked by a tiger.

Mr Sui's father brought the elephant home and raised it with Mr Sui, who was about the same age. They grew up together like brothers. Banpradap even covered Mr Sui from rain, and fanned insects away, after he had passed out from a little too much drink.

Padungsak got to know Mr Sui and Banpradap through the conservation centre and realised they were interesting subjects for the documentary. The also provided a surprising and moving ending for the documentary.

Banpradap fell ill after drinking polluted water and Padungsak rushed to Phitsanulok to meet them. "I was with them for three straight days. It was a poignant moment," Padungsak said of the animal's final days.

POSITIVE RESPONSE

Completed in November last year, Elephants in Motion has received a positive response from an international audience.

The documentary was recognised for Best Director and Best Story at this year's Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards. It also won a Platinum Award at the World Documentary Awards in Indonesia.

Distributed by British distributor Espresso TV, the documentary was recently bought by Al Jazeera and will be dubbed into Arabic.

Narumol hopes the movie will be shown on Thai television, despite the difficultly in attracting sponsors. "It's all about our Thai elephants -- I hope it gets an audience here," she said.

BEST FOOT FORWARD: Thai elephants are said to integrate more with humans and local people than other pachyderms.

Capturing the moment: The crew on location while filming the documentary.

AWARD WINNING: The documentary has received a positive response and won international awards.

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