The Grand Illusion

Directed, narrated, and written by legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, GHOST ELEPHANTS is a lyrical tale of survival, reconnection, and the enduring power of ancient knowledge in the face of modern loss.

In the mist-covered highlands of Angola, deep within its forests, a mystery endures: the elusive ghost elephants of Lisima, the potential living descendants of the largest land mammal ever recorded. Steve Boyes, conservation biologist and leader of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, is determined to prove their existence.

In order to find these elusive elephants, Boyes and fellow National Geographic Explorer Kerllen Costa have teamed up with three KhoiSan master trackers: Xui, Xui Dawid, and Kobus. Refugees from a war-torn past who have faced considerable marginalization in southern Africa, the trackers return to their ancestral lands to succeed where advanced technology could not.

Stick around after the movie for a pre-recorded Q&A with Werner Herzog, Steve Boyes, Producer Ariel Leon Isacovitch and Executive Producer Brian Nugent, moderated by filmmaker Kirsten Johnson.

“Ghost Elephants resides in the intersection of science and lyrical reverie — Herzog’s treasured terrain.” Lisa Kennedy, The New York Times

4/4 stars! “It’s a portrait of obsession that, while gentler than some of Herzog’s other works, is mesmerizing from the first moment to the last, yet another title of note in what remains one of the most incredible filmographies of our time.” Peter Sobczynski, RogerEbert.com