HEAR FROM THE FILMMAKERS
DOM
I have long thought that in order to responsibly care for animals and the ecosystems they inhabit, we first need to address the issues of our own species in those ecosystems. When the Elephant Project reached out to us regarding this story, I relished the opportunity to address exactly this issue. There are always many sides to every story, and the tragic and complex story of the treatment of elephants is well documented for good reason. The human factor, not just poaching, but those small communities living peacefully amongst these creatures, is rarely talked about. I am grateful that we were invited by the Elephant Project to scrape beneath the surface of this gargantuan topic.
KAREN
I have always had a deep admiration for those individuals willing to innovate and take risks in order to solve real-world problems. That is why I first became involved with The Elephant Project several years ago, and why I am excited for the opportunity to support the production of The Linesman. With a talented production team, a fascinating main character, and an issue in need of public attention, I am honored to be a part of this film, and I am eager to see the change it can bring to solve the crisis of human-elephant conflicts.
John
When Dominic from The Elephant Project documentary originally contacted me it was just to rent a drone. After learning that the project was about elephants in my country, I wanted to be a part of it and so asked if I could help. Human elephant conflict is something I didn't think was happening right outside where I live, Yangon City. I am a person who hates people for cutting down forests and causing deforestation and poaching but I did not know why they were doing it. It is a great eye opening experience for me to learn the back stories of "Why, How, and What they are doing?" These stories are very much never brought up in our media. The conflict between humans and nature is always a blur in our culture, and even some people believe that nature is limitless. They think they can take from nature without any worries and now we are paying the price. It was a great honor to be a part of this film and the chance to learn something I previously did not know.
NADIA
When the Elephant Project asked us to help them find a story about elephants in Myanmar, I had no idea that this problem existed. Through our research and interactions on the ground, I began to understand the grave need for this subject to be filmed and discussed in our public discourse. So much of what is created about Elephants in our media addresses the important subject of poaching. Yet poaching always seems like a problem unrelated to us here in the West. But human-animal conflict and its direct cause of deforestation is not only a cause deeply related to a lifestyle of consumption, it is also something we have the power to change. I hope that our film demonstrates the need to take seriously the problem is shrinking habitats for such important creatures as the elephant.
dANE
When I founded The Elephant Project in 2016, one of my goals was to develop new ideas and new solutions to bring long term and sustainable protection to elephants around the world. But in order to solve a problem you must first understand it from all sides. This is why I decided to chronicle the challenges facing elephants but just not through their eyes but through the experiences of the humans who must share the same space on earth that is getting smaller and smaller. I believe that only by understanding the root causes and emotions that drive the actions of both the elephants and humans can a true solution be found to saving this endangered species. This was the genesis of The Linesman and I am fortunate to have worked with some of the most amazing people I know in bringing this critical story in stunningly beautiful and sometimes haunting visuals to people around the world.
NICK
Humanity's changing relationship to nature has presented us with enormous and complex problems, the solutions to which must come from our species as a whole. It was both inspiring and gratifying to witness one man's commitment to make a difference, regardless of scale, and to enlist his community in the struggle to save his beloved elephants. I hope that together we can brace ourselves and answer the cry for help that our planet is so clearly giving us. It was a great honor to be involved in the making of this film.