One of our favorite films from the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival was “When Lambs Become Lions,” a shocking documentary from director Jon Kasbe that explores both sides of the ivory trade with empathy and clarity. While the shrinking elephant population is one of the great ecological disasters of our time—the World Wide Fund for Nature credits the ivory trade with killing “tens of thousands” of elephants every single year—there are also economic factors at play that are difficult to unpack and fix.
READ MORE: “When Lambs Become Lions” Is a “Complex and Darkly Gorgeous” Documentary
Thankfully, this documentary will soon be available to a wider audience. As noted in the first trailer for “When Lambs Become Lions,” Kasbe spent three years embedded in Kenya, interviewing both poachers and rangers and obtaining a first-hand understanding of the economic implications of the ivory trade on the local community. The filmmakers are also candid in their marketing, noting that, while their film “is committed to shedding light on the human and wildlife tragedies that play out in this world,” it also “does NOT depict animals of any kind being harmed.”
READ MORE: The 20 Best Documentaries of 2018
In his review of “When Lambs Become Lions,” Playlist critic Chris Barsanti described Kasbe’s film as a “supple, complex, and darkly gorgeous documentary.” He also applauded Kasbe’s willingness to explore both sides of the issues in great detail; while certainly nobody is rooting for the death of elephants, Barsanti noted that Kasbe does not shy away from depicting the “fraught complexities of economic insecurity and environmental devastation” that force so many Kenyans to turn to the ivory trade in the first place. This is sure to be one of the more talked-about documentaries of the year.
“When Lambs Become Lions” is set for a limited theatrical release in November 2019, so be sure to check the Oscilloscope Laboratories website at whenlambs.oscilloscope.com for more details.