THE ELEPHANTS OF

PINNAWALA

The Elephants of Pinnawala is a short, nature documentary exploring
the lives of elephants affected by the human-elephant conflict in Sri
Lanka.

It is an ongoing battle the civilians use land for further
developments of housing and agriculture, resulting in a direct effect
in a loss of habitat for the elephants. As the elephants attempt to
look for a means of living, the conflict occurs.

This documentary looks to tell the stories of some of its animal
victims and the work that places such as Pinnawala do to help
rehabilitate them.


As a lover of both wildlife and documentaries, I felt that this would
be the perfect opportunity for me to explore this interest of mine
whilst also showcasing my talents.

Having never made a documentary myself, I knew from the very
beginning that this was going to be a challenge. Countless hours of
research and planning had to be done to obtain even the smallest
of details, but this was all work that I was determined to do in
order to get my documentary to be the best it could.

The satisfaction you get from seeing your project grow and develop
into the vision that you imagined, is a feeling I cant even describe.
Its been an absolute dream to be able to create something such as
this, and I can only hope that this is the beginning of a strong
future in the media industry.
A FEW WORDS FROM THE DIRECTOR..


WHERE AND WHAT IS PINNAWALA?

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is a place of residence for wild Asian
elephants and is situated in the north west of Kegalle town, which is
in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka.

Originally opening in 1975, it started off as a home for orphaned
baby elephants. With only five being brought to the orphanage
originally, it has expanded drastically and is now home to 76
elephants. During the 39 years it has been open, 65 calves have
been born into the elephant herds but during that time and there
are currently 25 elephants that have become mothers.

The entirety of Pinnawala is 23 acres wide; only 3 of those acres
are used for office space and the rest for the elephants. The
elephants have access to marshlands, dry areas and a river.
Pinnawala aims to replicate the conditions that the elephants would
be exposed to in the wild, to the best they can, so they are still
able to develop healthily whilst getting all the nutrition they need.

There are currently 150 members of staff at Pinnawala, with over
60 of them in charge of looking after the elephants. There are
currently 70 apprentices training to work with the elephants, but
they too take on the duties of the mahouts. 3 veterinary physicians
are based onsite to look after the health and wellbeing of all the
elephants.

THE CREW

V i nur i Per era Wri t er /Di r ect or /Pr oducer

Vinuri is an enthusiastic individual who gives her all to what she
does. She has always had a passion for radio and television,
especially documentaries. This is the first time that she has directed
and produced something of her own on such a large scale. Having
to organise crews, sort out locations and research into the issues
of the documentary has lead to her enhancing her management
skills and enabled her to grow in confidence.
Subhasha Li yanage Di r ect or of Phot ogr aphy

Subhasha is a freelance producer who has a great deal of skill
when it comes to filming. He has over 14 years of experience and
has a good eye when it comes to getting together a variety of
different shots, which he keeps in mind when thinking about the
final product. His interest in creating documentaries is something
that shines through; the desire to put together a story and educate
an audience is a trait that doesnt go unnoticed in his work.
Ni hal A r t hanayake Nar r at or

With over 12 years of experience being a radio DJ for the BBC, Nihal
was the perfect person to voice The Elephants of Pinnawala. His
tone of voice is engaging and keeps the audience interested
throughout. The control that he has over his voice allows him to
perform under pressure and adapt his voice to suit a large range
of different styles.

PRODUCTION STILLS



MORE ABOUT THE ELEPHANTS OF
PINNAWALA

T echni cal Speci f i cat i on:

T i t l e: The Elephants of Pinnawala
Y ear of P roduct i on: 2014
Dur at i on: 12 minutes
Count r y of P roduct i om: Sri Lanka
Genr e: Documentary
Shoot gauge: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 60D
Fi ni sh gauge: 1080p HD QuickTime movie
A spect r at i o: 16:9
Language: English, Sinhalese

Onl i ne Pr esence:

T r ai l er : ht t ps: //v i meo. com/946821 64

Facebook : www. f acebook . com/el ephant sof pi nnawal a

Websi t e: www. t heel ephant sof pi nnawal a. com



DOCUMENTARY POSTER