Elephant Orphans
Synopsis
After suffering a near fatal injury in the Iraq war, Marine veteran Francis Keane returns to America and finds it hard to fit in a country he no longer understands. In a desperate attempt to regain control of his life, Francis journeys to Africa, where he leads hunting safaris for rich foreigners in a hunting club. After a chance encounter with a beautiful young Kenyan woman, Nalah, a caregiver at an elephant orphanage, Francis becomes frustrated with catering to the rich and famous, he quits – gradually dedicating himself to Nalah and her orphaned baby elephant, Santo. Over time, they happily release the grownup Santo back to the wild. When Francis witnesses Santo’s brutal killing by poachers in a wildlife sanctuary years later, he struggles with the bitter realization that the orphanage’s good works may be in vain, and that ivory poaching is an unstoppable and powerful force of evil.
By courageously facing his own despair and fear, Francis commits his life to saving elephants, He offers his military skills and knowledge to train male and female rangers with the help of Nalah, secures state-of-the-art equipment and technology with his foundation – to monitor and fight against the poachers. He finally finds an overriding purpose to his life.