Indian film The Elephant Whisperers wins Best Documentary Short Film. The other nominees were - Haulout, How Do You Measure a Year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect, Stranger at the Gate. Running at 41 minutes, this short documentary movie explores the tentative yet precious bond between Raghu, an orphaned baby elephant, and his caretakers - a mahout couple named Bomman and Bellie - who devote their lives to protect him from poachers and raise him.
The movie was the directorial debut of Kartiki Gonsalves. Gonsalves, who had a successful career as a wildlife and social documentary photographer, photojournalist, and cinematographer, left her cushy job for her maiden venture. A labour of love, ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ took five years to be made. Gonsalves and Guneet Monga, the producers of the film, worked closely with the indigenous Kattunayakan tribe, of which Bomman and Bellie are members. The shooting took place at the Mudumalai National Park (located in the lap of the majestic Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu).