It’s an age-old query:  Can humans live in harmony with other creatures on the planet?  On their way to speaking to this question, in  “The Elephant Whisperers” director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Doug Blush show us the beauty, intelligence, and even danger of the creatures who share our world.

Kartiki and Doug joined Mike to talk about their Oscar-nominated short documentary.  They tell Mike how the elephant caretakers, Bomman and Belli, both helped the young elephant Raghu and were helped by him as well.   Why did they choose not to forefront some of the most dire threats to the elephants, including global warming, but instead focus on what they call “a family drama”?  And what hope do they have for the future of India’s wildlife, and for the greater planet as well?

The Elephant Whisperers can be seen on Netflix.

Hidden Gems:

Writing with Fire (our conversation with directors Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh)

Bad Axe (our conversation with director David Siev)

Last Flight Home (our conversation with director Ondi Timor)

Follow:

@theelephantwhisperers on Instagram

Kartiki: @EarthSpectrum on twitter & @kartikigonsalves on Instagram

Doug: @madpixfilm on twitter

@topdocspod on twitter and Instagram

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