The Millenium Festival is pleased to unveil the film that will celebrate the opening of its 15th edition: Elephant Mother. A documentary that embodies, through the emblematic figure of its protagonist, the theme of this edition “Towards invisible realities”. A heroine who has not forgotten her soul or her childhood dreams, but has cultivated them day after day to make them a reality. A film that testifies to the festival’s commitment to women’s rights and nature.

Through its unique programming and its desire to offer audiences unique stories, the Millenium Festival hosts documentaries that are true observatories on the most pressing issues of our time. Each year, the festival returns with an even more demanding, qualitative and committed programme. This is the case of Elephant Mother, which embodies the values of the festival. Since its creation, Millenium has highlighted the singular work of filmmakers and dedicated its programming to the Sustainable Development Goals, which are the essence of the values carried by the festival. In this sense, Elephant Mother embodies the commitment to the protection of diversity, the commitment to invisible realities and the protection of rights.
Elephant Mother is a modern fable, one woman’s quest to help save Thailand’s iconic and once sacred elephants.
It begins as a children’s story: one day in the Thai jungle, a little girl, Lek Chailert, meets an injured elephant and makes a promise to nurse it back to health. A promise that the child, now an adult, honours by taking in elephants that are victims of the mafia trade and the tourist industry. Threatened from all sides, this heroine never stops pursuing her dream: to make elephants become elephants again. A daring dream that is on the verge of collapse (and her collapse) but life’s little miracle: a seemingly disastrous event causes a turnaround worthy of a Hollywood script!
A wonderful story of a woman struggling against the Thai tourism industry and bursting with positive energy to bring about change. A film that weaves together profound reflections on ecofeminism and women’s empowerment to defend nature.

We invite you to discover it at the opening night on 26 March 2023 with the protagonist Lek Chailert at the Cinema Gallery.