Film screening in Diss bids to raise funds for flood-hit elephant sanctuary

A Wortham film director and producer is set to show a hard-hitting documentary he has made to raise funds for an area of Thailand that has been hit by flooding.

Jez Lewis will be showing his film, Elephant Mother, at No.8 Marketplace in Diss on Thursday.

The film, which Jez describes as an exposé, stars the inspirational tribal Thai woman Lek Chailert, who rescues elephants from abuse in the lucrative Thai tourist industry, while threatened by a powerful so-called ‘elephant mafia’ of traders and traffickers.

The filmmaker now wants to help the Elephant Nature Park, where Ms Chailert’s work is based in the Aisan country, even more.

“In the past week, the animal sanctuary where the film was made has been devastated by flooding,” he said. “So I am screening the film in Diss in an effort to raise funds for relief costs.”

Mr Lewis and his partner, Rachel Wexler, who run Bungalow Town Productions, were compelled to make the film when approached by Jocelyn Cammack, co-director on the production, some time ago.

They were shown some footage of appalling abuse of baby elephants, who were being tortured into submission so they become obedient to humans.

Mr Lewis wanted to make the film so badly to help that he risked everything during the pandemic by going to the country, disguised as a tourist, in 2021 to make some of it.

Elephant Mother, followed by a question-and-answer session with Mr Lewis, will be screened in The Ballroom at No.8 Marketplace, in Diss, on Thursday, from 7.30pm.