Dr Paula Kahumbu, a Kenyan filmmaker, was chosen by National Geographic and Disney to be part of a new four-part series dubbed ‘Secrets of the Elephants.’
Paula worked alongside the film’s executive producer James Cameron, who was also the filmmaker behind the 2022 film Avatar: The Way of Water which grossed a total of Ksh313 billion (USD2.3 billion) making it the third highest-grossing movie of all time.
Cameron's other film, Avatar, which was released in 2009, ranks as the highest-grossing movie of all time with Ksh396 billion in revenue worldwide.
Speaking to Shondaland, an American production company on April 21, Kahumbu stated that her new film highlights and explores the life and the habitat of elephants.
She added that she was selected to become a presenter for the film, a role that she had previously not explored.
The role marked the first time Disney and National Geographic chose an African to be a presenter of a show featuring an African animal for such a landmark series.
“When National Geographic said they were going to start doing Secrets of the Elephants, they called me up one day out of the blue and asked if I wanted to become a part of it.
“I was expecting to be asked to be an expert scientist to give them some of the scientific input but they stated that they thought I would make a really good presenter,” she stated.
While making the film, the filmmaker and conservationist, traveled across four productions in Africa and Asia over the course of a year.
“It was extraordinary. They did this production at lightning speed, especially considering that most films of this nature would take three to five years. This is a phenomenal achievement. The team was really, really amazing,” Kahumbu noted.
The film, which premiered on April 22 on Disney+ put Kahumbu on a bigger platform to speak about the preservation of Wildlife, especially elephants and to represent other African conservationists.
"The need for representation is something I've been talking about for a long time. Not only does the rest of the world need to know that there are African experts, but we also want Africans to be at the forefront of elephant conservation in Africa.
“They are one of the most endangered species on Earth, and Africans have never seen Africans talking about them,” she noted.
Paula is best known for her national heritage preservation campaigns and for speaking against the unethical trade of elephant ivory.
“I believe that I was selected because I am an elephant expert. I did my PhD on elephants, I started at Princeton, so there’s some real background that I have in elephant conservation.
“But it was also a great opportunity to go and find out more about elephants across the continent because, although I did my PhD in elephants, I studied them in Kenya, and I’ve been working in Kenya,” she stated.
Aside from being a filmmaker, Paula is an elephant expert and National Geographic Explorer who lives and works in Kenya.
She is also the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of WildlifeDirect and a member of the boards of National Geographic and the World Wildlife Fund.
