Gods in Shackles is a feature-length documentary film, an exposé revealing the dark side of the southern Indian state of Kerala's glamorous cultural festivals that exploit temple elephants for profit under the guise of culture and religion.
We call this film Gods in Shackles as it features the embodiment(s) of Lord Ganesha - a Hindu God with an elephant face – the endangered Asian elephants that are being tortured in religious rituals and cultural festivals. This film challenges cultural and religious practices that condone torture of elephants that have been created by the same God they worship.
By exposing the abhorrent torture suffered by India's heritage animal, Gods in Shackles offers hope to the thousands of endangered captive and wild elephants in India through heightened awareness that will inspire key stakeholders and policy makers to enhance the living conditions of these highly social animals.
The emotional story unfolds against a stunning backdrop in India. To amplify the beat of this film, we have gathered approximately 300 hours of powerful footage, including some shocking undercover footage. Gods in Shackles is a story that has never been told before; it is visually stunning, entertaining, edgy, and fast-paced magnified by cultural and classical musical score. It features leading edge motion graphics accompanied by animations.
Gods in Shackles will touch the hearts of people and empower them with knowledge, hope and confidence that will propel them to take positive actions and protect the endangered Asian elephants.
We followed the lives of four celebrity elephants for a year - three male festival elephants, and one female temple elephant. A fifth male elephant named “Sundar” made international headlines. He gives hope to thousands of temple elephants across Asia. We have filmed his story from capture to torture to neglect, and finally, his release into a wildlife sanctuary.
