Tippi Hedren to intro Film “The Last Elephants of Thailand” at LA FEMME FILM FESTIVAL SAT

Activist/actress Tippi Hedren to introduce the film

Melanie Griffith with Mom Tippi Hedren, who is attending LA Femme Film Festival

 

Los Angeles – October 14, 2010 The Last Elephants in Thailandby Michelle Mizner and Don Tayloe will screen at the 6^th Annual LA Femme Film Festival, on Saturday, October 16 at 6pm.  The film, a stunning statement on elephant abuse in Thailand and beyond, has already garnered wins at the San Antonio Film Festival, Bangkok IndieFest and the Venice Green Screen Film Festival and will compete at the United Nations Association Film Festival (October 22 – 31) at Stanford University.  The filmmakers’ prescient insight is also being brought to light by Hollywood via the new Reese Witherspoon film Water for Elephants.  The film will be introduced by the legendary Tippi Hedren, a well-known animal activist.

Michelle Mizner is a documentary filmmaker from Central California.  She studied cinema and creative writing on full scholarship at Cal State Northridge, where she directed Barrio Thief, a short film about a family affected by drug-resistant tuberculosis in Peru.  Upon graduation, Michelle they joined forces with Don Tayloe to make this film, a process that altogether took almost 2 years.   “Don and I were both working full time jobs and living on opposite sides of the country, but this was a passion project.  It began as a small story about an elephant hospital in Thailand, however as we were filming and made aware of the hardships faced everyday by domesticated elephants and the humans who care for them, and we knew we had an urgent responsibility to share.

Michelle hopes the film challenges viewers to consider their own opinions about how and why elephants are used in entertainment and tourism, both at home and abroad.  “People love elephants.  So its heartbreaking to learn that something as innocent and alluring as an elephant painting can actually be the result of serious torture.”

Don Tayloe is a practicing internist at the VA Hospital in Fresno.  He became interested in the Elephant Hospital in Thailand because of the uniqueness of a hospital that only treated elephants.  It gave him the chance to observe cutting edge veterinary medicine applied to elephants.

Tippi Hedren, actress, producer, activist was the recipient of the “Thespian Award” from the LA Femme Film Festival in 2008.

The LA Femme Film Festival, now in its sixth year, runs October 14- 17, 2010. The Last Elephants in Thailand will screen at the Davidson Valentini Theater, The Village at Ed Gould Plaza in Hollywood on Saturday, October 16, at 6pm.  Tickets for the festival can be purchased online atwww.LAFemme.org or at the box office.