Dramatic Elephant Doc Takes Second Prize; Moon Bear Rescue Doc Takes First
SAN FRANCISCO (Dec 9, 2011) – From a rich and diverse field of almost 90 submissions from over 20 countries around the world, The Eyes of Thailand, a feature length documentary by Windy Borman about an inspiring quest to build prostheses for elephants who stepped on landmines, won an Animal Content in Entertainment (ACE) Documentary Grant from The Humane Society of the United States.
A panel of development and programming executives from HBO Documentary Films, Animal Planet, The Documentary Channel, Authentic Entertainment, Screaming Flea Productions, Gravitas Ventures and Green Planet Films selected The Eyes of Thailand to win the $2,500 grant.
“We were amazed at the number of commercially viable animal protection themed documentary projects that were submitted this year – the most we’ve had in the grant’s six-year history and a sure sign that the documentary genre is buzzing with filmmakers with something new to say about animal issues,” says HSUS’ Jonny Vasic, director of the ACE program. “The Eyes of Thailand is an inspiring and unique documentary that will open up hearts and minds about the amazing veterinary work being performed at the Asian Elephant hospital. We are so happy it was one of the winners of the 2011 ACE Documentary Film Grant.”
The Eyes of Thailand is directed and produced by Windy Borman and produced by award-winning filmmaker Tim VandeSteeg. The Film is currently in the final stages of Post-production and on schedule for completion in spring 2012.
First place in HSUS’ 2011 ACE Documentary Grant competition went to Cages of Shame, a feature length documentary by Martin Guinness about an inspiring mission to rescue Moon Bears from a bile farm in China. The news about both films appeared in Variety earlier today.
The Humane Society was formed in 1954 and has awarded the ACE Documentary Film Grant to select animal-themed documentaries since 2006. Previous recipients of The HSUS’s ACE grant have included The Elephant in the Living Room, a documentary about exotic pet ownership by Michael Webber, which was released in theaters earlier this year, and One Lucky Elephant, directed by Lisa Leeman, about the quest to find a retired circus elephant a home, which also received a theatrical release in 2011 and aired on OWN earlier this month.
