Animal Film Program

The Making of Elephants + Man: A Litany of Tragedy

A Voice For The Animals Production

Elephants + Man: A Litany of Tragedy began with an animal issues club that VFTA Executive Director Melyá facilitated at Crossroads and New Roads schools. The Crossroads and Newroads students met with Melyá every week to discuss elephants in captivity and, specifically, how to help the then four elephants at the LA Zoo. After Tara and Gita, two of the elephants at the LA Zoo, died in the same place and in the same way only a few years apart, the club decided to make a film that would bring awareness to the students’ fight to help the LA Zoo elephants. To raise funds for the film, the students held a bake sale, which was a huge success! They raised enough money to place an ad for a filmmaker in Vanity Fair magazine. They received 35 responses to their ad, and, after looking over resumes and reels, they chose Jacek Kropinski to make Elephants + Man: A Litany of Tragedy. The one-hour-long film traces the tragic history of these intelligent and sensitive animals and explains why elephants are particularly unsuited for life in captivity. It also exposes the unspeakable torture elephants endure in zoos and circuses. The students hope that, by using the film to educate people about the plight of elephants in captivity, they can finally stop the tragedy.

Photos From the Premiere of Elephants + Man: A Litany of Tragedy

Executive Director Melyá with Cher

Billy Bob Thornton, & Lily Tomlin with Executive Director Melyá