The Making of Ele, My Friend

I married my best friend shortly after graduating from college. He happened to be from India, from a family of filmmakers. Dharan and I met had met at Pepperdine University in romantic Malibu, he was my neighbor and soon became my best friend.

After having our first child, we wanted to make a film that could be enjoyed by the whole family, an adventure from the past which transferred the viewer to a more innocent time. Dharan grew up in India hearing fascinating tales about the jungle and the exotic animals that lived there. One of his favorite animals was the majestic elephant, with their strong family bonds. He came up with a story that would show the unique parallels of emotions that elephants share with humans -Love, Fear, Anger, Loss, and Joy.

The idea for Ele, My Friend was born. We filmed the movie in some of the most beautiful parts of South India. Making the film was an adventure in itself, as we packed up our entire household which included two Great Danes, our two year old daughter, Shanthe' and our eleven week old son, Shan and headed off to India for our year long trek...