Canada 2024, 88 min, Dir: Fern Levitt
Presented in partnership with LEAP
LUCY: THE STOLEN LIVES OF ELEPHANTS is the first documentary film which reveals the plight of elephants in captivity and investigates the lies that zoos tell an unknowing public under the guise of wildlife conservation and education. At the heart of the film is Lucy, Edmonton Valley Zoo’s lone and ailing 48-year-old elephant and the people fighting to send her to a sanctuary in California where she can live for the first time in decades with the company of other elephants.
Lucy’s roots are traced back to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka, where elephants are exploited as a tourist attraction and many are sold to zoos throughout the world. The film contrasts the difference for elephants who live in zoos with footage of elephants in their natural habitat and in sanctuary. Meanwhile, zoos worldwide falsely boast of their critical role in education and preventing extinction of the many animals that are threatened in the wild.
The film features a story of hope and a glimpse at a possible future for Lucy through the story of Kuky and Pupy, a pair of female elephants and their unusual, evolving zoo in Buenos Aires. As they wait to be transferred to a sanctuary, another pair of elephants in Argentina are relocated to the Global Sanctuary for Elephants in Brazil.
With Bill S-15 awaiting passage in the Canadian Parliament, there is potential for exciting change on the horizon. This historic Bill looks to a future where wild animals will no longer be living in captivity in Canada.
Panel discussion following the screening.
