Kingdom of Elephants (2007)

"The Last Mahout" is a one-hour HD special that explores the extraordinary relationship between elephants and the people of Southeast Asia through the eyes of a young mahout in training. In a remote elephant camp we find a child beginning her training as a mahout, following in the footsteps of the father. The difference is this young mahout is not a he, but a she. The girl fell in love with elephants as a young child. Now that she is of age, she has begun her training as a mahout. Her father and mentor along with a wise elephant trainer will teach her how to handle this massive beast, and in the process developed a bond unique in the animal kingdom, a bond between humans and elephant 4,000 years in the making. She is not the first woman to sit a top an elephant; Thai history has a legendary example. But she is the first in her family - and perhaps the last. As the film progresses we follow the young girl through her training to a climatic first trek to a distant village. This journey will test her skills as a mahout, her endurance as a person, and deepen the bond between elephant and trainer. When she emerges from the forest she will no longer be a girl, but a woman who is now part of an ancient tradition - the last in her family, the last Mahout.