Werner Herzog’s Ghost Elephants to Debut on March 7

Today, National Geographic Documentary Films and Abramorama debuted the trailer for the feature-length documentary Ghost Elephants, directed, written, and narrated by Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) and produced by Ariel León Isacovitch and Herzog.

Airing on National Geographic on Saturday, March 7, at 9/8c and streaming the next day, March 8, on Disney+ and Hulu, the film follows National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes on an epic journey as he sets out with some of the last remaining master trackers in the world in pursuit of an animal long believed to be a myth.

On Thursday, Feb. 26, Abramorama will host a one-night-only nationwide theatrical simulcast screening of Ghost Elephants, followed by a live Q&A panel with Herzog and Boyes.

Executive producer Brian Nugent will introduce the 7 p.m. public screening at the AMC Lincoln Square in Manhattan and join the panel discussion, which will be transmitted live to theaters nationwide via the Digital Cinema Distribution Coalition, in coordination with Abramorama’s live event partner, take2productions.

Abramorama will release the documentary in select North American theaters beginning on Feb. 27. The film will also be released in select international territories, including Benelux (POM Benelux), France (Blue Note Films), Mexico (Daimon Cine), and Lithuania (Virtuoliai).

In the mist-covered highlands of Angola, deep within its forests, 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 leader of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, is determined to prove their existence.

To find these elusive elephants, Boyes and fellow National Geographic Explorer Kerllen Costa have teamed up with three KhoiSan master trackers — Xui, Xui Dawid, and Kobus — to succeed where advanced technology has failed.

Directed, narrated, and written by legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, Ghost Elephants is a lyrical tale of survival, reconnection, and the enduring power of ancient knowledge in the face of modern loss. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Herzog received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

Complementing the film is the coffee table book Okavango and the Source of Life by Steve Boyes, releasing March 3 in tandem with the documentary. The book expands the journey beyond the screen, featuring more than 100 striking photographs, detailed maps, and Boyes’ personal reflections from years of grueling expeditions to the Angolan headwaters of the Okavango.

It documents the same remaining waterways, communities, and fragile ecosystems explored in the film, conveying the physical and emotional toll of navigating a wilderness long closed off by war. With a foreword by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and portraits of local traditional knowledge keepers, the book offers an intimate and visually rich companion to the cinematic experience.

Ghost Elephants is produced by Herzog for Skellig Rock, Inc., and Ariel León Isacovitch for The Roots Production Service. Sobey Road Entertainment is the producing partner with Brian Nugent, Andrew Trapani, Emerson G. Farrel, David Sze, David B. Kirk, Terrence Battle, Richard Sneider, Christopher White, 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.