Maybe Elephants

Directed by Torill Kove

Canada, 2024 (animation, 17 minutes, colour, English)

Also known as "Peut-être des éléphants"

Image: © National Film Board of Canada

Video (National Film Board of Canada) [French]
Video (National Film Board of Canada)
Video (National Film Board of Canada) [French]

Film Description:
"Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Torill Kove narrates the story of her formative teenage years growing up in a loving family who must suddenly navigate the strong pull of individual needs. The parents and three sisters swap a safe and predictable life in Norway with the fresh unknowns of vibrant 1970s Nairobi, Kenya. Featuring the return cast of Me and My Moulton, Maybe Elephants explores the many ripples flowing from a mother's restlessness, and how this impacts her family. Bursting with wit, a joyful colour palette and an energetic soundscape, Maybe Elephants is a vivid homage to Kove's time spent immersed in Nairobi's bustling culture. The animated short wraps rich nostalgia around memories of eventful family trips, timeless teen antics and those inevitable moments of adolescent epiphany. Reframing a complex upbringing, Maybe Elephants illustrates that within an imperfect memory lies a perfect, if subjective, truth."
-- National Film Board of Canada (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by:	Torill Kove
Produced by:	Lise Fearnley, Maral Mohammadian, Tonje Skar Reiersen, Robert McLaughlin, Michael Fukushima
Principal Cast:	Andrea Braein Hovig, Adrianne Richards, Pål Sverre Hagen, Brett Schaenfield, Ella Øverbye, Frances Wheeler-Hugues, Vivild Falk Berg, Jenna Wheeler-Hugues, Torill Kove, Kåre Conradi, Jane Nyoike, David Wang'ang'a Njuguna, Nicholas Kilingi, Victoria Mesopir-Iossel
Narrator:	Torill Kove
Film Editing:	Alison Burns
Music:	Luigi Allemano
Production Company:	Mikrofilm AS, National Film Board of Canada / Office national du film du Canada

(sources)

Awards won by Maybe Elephants

Canadian Screen Award: Best Animated Short -- awarded to Torill Kove, Lise Fearnley, Maral Mohammadian, Tonje Skar Reiersen
Prix Iris [Iris Award]: Meilleur court ou moyen métrage, animation [best short or medium-length animated film] -- awarded to Torill Kove, Lise Fearnley, Tonje Skar Reiersen, Maral Mohammadian

Notes about Maybe Elephants

Shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024.

(sources)

Web Sites about Maybe Elephants

National Film Board of Canada. "NFB -- Maybe Elephants." National Film Board of Canada. https://collection.nfb.ca/film/maybe-elephants.
Office national du film du Canada. "ONF -- Peut-être des éléphants." Office national du film du Canada. https://collection.nfb.ca/film/peutetre-des-elephants-doublee. [in French]