NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS ANNOUNCES GLOBAL ACQUISITION OF STREAMING RIGHTS TO WERNER HERZOG DOCUMENTARY "GHOST ELEPHANTS" FOLLOWING VENICE WORLD PREMIERE

THE FILM FOLLOWS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER STEVE BOYES ON AN EPIC JOURNEY TO FIND THE LARGEST LAND MAMMALS EVER RECORDED

From Sobey Road Entertainment and Producer Ariel León Isacovitch, the Feature-Length Documentary Will Have Its U.S. Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and Will Stream on Disney+ and Hulu in 2026

Photo Credit: Wilderness Project Archive

(WASHINGTON, D.C. - Aug. 29 2025) Today, National Geographic Documentary Films announced that it has acquired the streaming rights to the feature-length documentary GHOST ELEPHANTS, directed, narrated and written by legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog and featuring National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes. The film made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival where Herzog received one of cinema's most prestigious honors: the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. The documentary will make its U.S. premiere at the Telluride Film Festival this weekend.

In the mist-covered highlands of Angola, deep within Africa's last great subtropical forest, 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 National Geographic's Okavango Wilderness Project leader, 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 - Qui (/ui), Qui-Dawid, and Kobus. Refugees from a war-torn past and considered among the most marginalized people in southern Africa, the trackers return to their ancestral lands to succeed where advanced technology could not.

Guided by trance, memory and the sacred "Elephant Dance," their journey becomes an odyssey through a land of living myth, where forest spirits guard ancient lakes and the Luchaze people remain the last watchers of a vanishing world. As they reconnect with the "Source of Life" - the waters that sustain the Okavango Basin across Angola, Namibia and Botswana - they seek not just lost elephants, but a path back to identity, hope and belonging.

Through Herzog's visionary storytelling style, sweeping visuals, and rare access to the Luchaze people, GHOST ELEPHANTS is a lyrical tale of survival, reconnection and the enduring power of ancient knowledge in the face of modern loss.

"After meeting Steve Boyes, an unexpected project that felt like the hunt for Moby Dick, the white whale, came at me with great urgency," said Herzog, who is also a National Geographic Explorer. "Like many of my films, this is an exploration of dreams, of imagination - weighed against reality. The film took me to what the local tribesmen call 'The Land at the End of the Earth.'"

"We are thrilled to bring Werner Herzog's GHOST ELEPHANTS to streaming audiences worldwide," said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of Documentary Films at National Geographic. "This film's captivating visual poetry gives viewers a front-row seat to Boyes' quest to uncover the truth behind the legend of these magnificent and elusive creatures."

"As we pondered the fate of the ghost elephants, one thing became clear: They may hold the key to protecting the waters that give life to the Okavango," said Boyes. "For thousands of years, elephants have been the architects of landscapes and the nurturers of ecosystems that allow other species to thrive. And after bearing witness to war, their resilience carries from one generation to the next. To find them is to believe in a future where this Lisima landscape fully thrives for people and nature."

Since the inception of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project in 2015, Boyes and local partners have worked alongside communities, drawing on traditional knowledge to study the scientific importance of this landscape and make the case for its protection. Their work has illuminated the greater Okavango Basin's importance as a water and food security source for one million people, a vibrant landscape of cultural and spiritual traditions, and home to iconic species, including half of the remaining elephants on the planet. The team's work comes to life through rigorous research, community education initiatives, and storytelling.

Streaming premiere dates for Disney+ and Hulu in 2026 are yet to be announced. The film will also receive a theatrical release, with dates to be announced by Sobey Road Entertainment in the coming months.

GHOST ELEPHANTS is produced by Ariel León Isacovitch and directed, narrated and written by Werner Herzog. Sobey Road Entertainment is the producing partner with Brian Nugent, Andrew Trapani, Emerson Farrell, David Sze, David B. Kirk, Terrence Battle and Casey Graf as executive producers. For National Geographic Documentary Films, Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of Documentary Films, and Tim Horsburgh, vice president of Documentary Films, are executive producers.

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National Geographic Documentary Films

National Geographic Documentary Films, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, is committed to bringing the world premium, feature documentaries that cover timely, provocative and globally relevant stories from the very best documentary filmmakers. Its award-winning and critically acclaimed films reach 300 million people worldwide in 180 countries and 33 languages across the global National Geographic channels and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Recent films include Oscar(R) and Peabody Award nominee "Sugarcane," Oscar-nominated and Peabody Award winner "Bobi Wine: The People's President," Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated "Fire of Love," three-time Emmy(R) Award winner "The First Wave," Emmy Award-winner "Blink," Emmy and Peabody Award winner "The Territory," BAFTA nominees "The Rescue" and "Becoming Cousteau," and Oscar and BAFTA winner "Free Solo." For more information, visit films.nationalgeographic.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Sobey Road Entertainment

Sobey Road Entertainment is producing and financing seminal music, sports and impact documentaries with some of the world's most acclaimed filmmakers. Sobey - and its Oscar, Emmy, BAFTA and Peabody-winning co-producers - create authentic cinematic portraits with an emphasis on integrity in storytelling. Sobey co-financed and produced the forthcoming "Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery" directed by Ally Pankiw, "Lilith" screens in competition at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival in advance of the worldwide premiere on Hulu Sept. 21. Sobey recently produced the Emmy-winning Hulu Docuseries "Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers," directed by Antoine Fuqua, and is also in postproduction on the definitive Gene Wilder documentary, directed by Emmy winner Chris Smith. Sobey also served as executive producers on "Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It," directed by Emmy winner Paris Barclay. For more information, visit sobeyroadentertainment.com or find us on LinkedIn, and Instagram.

The National Geographic Okavango Project

Since 2015, the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project (NGOWP) has been working with communities and governments to secure permanent, sustainable protection for the greater Okavango Basin - which spans Angola, Namibia, and Botswana. A team of Explorers, local and regional experts, and partners at the Wild Bird Trust are working to accomplish this through rigorous scientific research, advancing traditional knowledge, impactful conservation education projects, and storytelling about the ecosystem and people who live there. In 2021, National Geographic and De Beers entered a partnership, Okavango Eternal, to expand and accelerate work already underway.