A baby elephant runs playfully on a dusty dirt path, ears flapping and trunk curled, as if already facing giants, with blurred trees and a dry landscape in the background.
Two young elephants, like gentle giants, play together on sandy ground, their trunks and heads touching as one nudges the other. Surrounded by grass and blurred greenery, they embody the spirit of facing giants side by side.
A baby elephant stands close to an adult elephant, raising its trunk toward the giants leg in a grassy field with small yellow flowers—capturing the spirit of facing giants.

Facing Giants

Nature & Wildlife·1 x 50 min·In Development

Guided by her mother, a young elephant calf braves lions, drought, and a vanishing wilderness on her first migration – a rite of passage written in instinct and ancestral memory.

Factsheet
Genre
Nature & Wildlife
Duration
1 × 50 min
Definition
4K
Audio
5.1
Status
In Development
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Synopsis

In Botswana’s Northern Tuli Game Reserve, where ancient wilderness meets modern-day encroachment, a young elephant calf begins her most perilous rite of passage: her first great migration. Facing Giants follows this journey through the eyes of the calf, navigating a world of dwindling wild spaces, ancestral memory, and formidable threats – both real and symbolic.

Born into a matriarchal society steeped in wisdom, the calf is guided by her mother through a harsh and beautiful land. Their journey begins in the dry season, when water is scarce and danger waits behind every bush. Along the way, they must pass through treacherous landmarks carved by generations of migration: the Fever Berry Forest, cloaked in shadows and prowled by lions; the chaos of the Mopani Mongrels, home to fierce hyena clans; and the deceptively calm Croc Pool, where still waters hide deadly jaws.

Each step demands courage. Each night whispers ancestral lessons in survival, resilience, and intuition. The calf must learn quickly – when to stay silent, when to charge, and when to trust the instincts hardwired into her lineage.

As the rains finally fall and transform the landscape, the once-barren plains erupt in green. Life returns. So do the elephants. Herds gather in their hundreds, a reunion rooted in memory, joy and the promise of life renewed. Amid the celebration, the calf is no longer merely following – she is now part of the pulse of the migration.

But this is more than a coming-of-age story. This is a portrait of what it means to survive in a time of rapid ecological change. As traditional routes are severed by farmland, fences, and human activity, each journey grows more dangerous. Yet in the face of these mounting giants, nature persists – if only we allow it the space and respect to do so.

FACING GIANTS is a raw, intimate portrayal of the African elephant’s world: its dangers, its beauty and the deep intelligence and emotion woven into every step of the journey. Visually rich and emotionally grounded, the film is both a celebration of wild Africa and a cautionary tale about the fragile future of its largest inhabitants.

This is not just a journey through the wild – it’s a journey towards understanding what we stand to lose, and what the next generation must face, to preserve it.

Team

Produced and directed by Magdel Vorster, Wim Vorster, Birgit Peters
Executive producer Sabine Holzer
Production companies A Wild Web Africa / Terra Mater Studios production
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