The Elephant Queen: Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone interview on Apple TV+’s first documentary

The Elephant Queen is a documentary produced and directed by Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble, spanning a four-year period of filming in Tsavo East National Park in Kenya. The duo collaborated with a small team to capture the journey of an elephant family headed up by Athena, a 50-year-old matriarch.

The film, narrated by Bafta award-winning actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, takes audiences to the very heart of the elephant herd as they strive against the harsh savannah sun and a brutal drought. Through Athena, her herd and weird and wonderful creatures like bullfrogs and dung beetles, we encounter the effects of love and loss whilst the striking cinematography captures these powerful animals within their kingdom. The project also raises the issues of elephant poaching and the future survival of these gentle giants.

We sat down with the directors to discuss these pertinent issues, the experimental techniques used to film these magnificent creatures and what they hope audiences will take away from The Elephant Queen.

Ezelle Alblas

The Elephant Queen is released on Apple TV+ on 1^st November 2019.

Watch the trailer for The Elephant Queen here: