Field record
- Where
- Chiang Mai, northern Thailand
- When
- Two weeks, late November to December 2023
- Visited
- Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
- What I made
- A short documentary film of the elephant sanctuary
Key points
- Behind the elephant rides and shows popular in Chiang Mai, Thailand, elephants are often kept in cramped, unsanitary conditions, and some have backs sunken from carrying people.
- For two weeks from late November 2023, I visited Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and made a short documentary film.
- Choosing, when we travel, to watch over elephants instead of riding them changes their lives.
First published 2023.12.05 (Instagram) / Updated
Chiang Mai, the old capital of northern Thailand, is a city surrounded by lush green mountains. Elephant rides and performances are popular with tourists. Behind that glamour, few people know what conditions the elephants live in. The aim of this trip was to visit an elephant sanctuary, Elephant Jungle Sanctuary.
What is happening to the backs of riding elephants?
Elephants used for rides and circuses are often kept in cramped, unsanitary conditions. The weight of tourists causes long-term damage to their backs. I did see elephants whose backs had sunk.
Elephants have families they love, too
Like us, they have families they love. What do we choose when we travel? Not to ride, but to watch over them. That small choice changes their lives. Through my experience, I hope compassionate choices toward elephants spread, even a little.
If this film can be someone's first step toward knowing,
I will be truly, truly glad.
Abroad, spoken to in the local language from the start
Strangely enough, here too, local people spoke to me in their own language from the start. Thanks to the looks I was born with, I always get teased. I had just learned at Bible school how to communicate with local people. But apparently my face is my passport. (Laughs) Even that familiar sense of being out of place in a foreign land has, at some point, become something I treasure.
Whether resting, running or walking, I want to live the life I have been given with everything I have.
Narita Jun
Filmmaker and video journalist, born in Nagoya in 1993. As staff of an international NGO, he works in disaster response and humanitarian aid while making documentaries about people, wildlife and the earth. Green Film Festival 2024 Grand Prize.