THE ELEPHANT'S SONG (2019)
Animated Short Film
The Elephant's Song tells the story of Old Bet, the elephant remembered as the first circus elephant in America. Brought to Somers, New York, in the early nineteenth century, Old Bet became an extraordinary attraction at a time when most Americans had never seen an elephant. Told through the voice of an old farm dog who remembers her as his friend, the film transforms this unusual chapter of American history into an intimate story of companionship, exploitation, and loss.
Set to an original song created with writer and musician Sam Saper, the film combines clay-on-glass and hand-colored oil pastel animation to bring Old Bet's world to life. Moments of humor, beauty, and friendship exist alongside the sadness of her story, offering a reflection on the complicated history of animals as entertainment and humanity's changing relationship with the natural world.
Behind the Story
Lynn first encountered Old Bet's story through The Memory Palace podcast and was drawn to the loneliness and pathos of an elephant living thousands of miles from others of her species. Her research later took her to the Elephant Hotel in Somers, New York, and into the visual culture of the early nineteenth century.
One particularly resonant connection was Charles Willson Peale's The Exhumation of the Mastodon, painted around the same period in which Old Bet's story began. The discovery and exhibition of mastodon remains helped introduce the idea that species that once inhabited North America could disappear. For Lynn, the image suggested another layer to Old Bet's story: a solitary elephant walking a landscape once inhabited by her extinct relatives.
These histories helped expand The Elephant's Song beyond the story of one animal, connecting Old Bet's journey to larger questions of extinction, spectacle, memory, and the ways humans understand other species.
Alumna animator earns festival award for newest film, Cornell, by Kathy Hovis
Elephant’s Song by Lynn Tomlinson, Dragonframe
Animated and Directed by Lynn Tomlinson
Written by Lynn Tomlinson and Sam Saper
Music and lyrics by Sam Saper
Vocals by Deletta Gillespie and Brooks Long
Instrumentals and arrangement by Trucker Talk: Abby Becker, Greg Bowen, Jessica Keyes, Rich Kolm
Sound Effects by Elsa Lankford
Sound recorded and engineered by Shea Springer, Sweetfoot Studio
Additional animation by Lucy Saper and M.C. Tomlinson
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
Short of the Week: August 26, 2021 - Online Premiere
AWARDS:
Audience Choice, Best Short Animation, Providence Children's Film Festival, 2020
Climate, Environment, Biodiversity Prize, Festival Le Temps Presse, Paris, 2020
Best Music, TOFUZI, Batumi, Georgia, 2019
Best Narrative Short, Programmers Award, 32nd annual Virginia Film Festival, Charlottesville, VA, 2019
Best Animated Short, Sidewalk Film Festival, Birmingham, AL, 2019
ASIFA East, Independent Films, 1st Prize, NY, 2019
ASIFA East, Excellence in Music, NY, 2019
ASIFA East, Women in Animation Award, NY, 2019
Global Insights Stellar Award (Top Award), Black Maria Film Festival, 2019
Best Animation, NatureTrack Film Festival, CA, 2019
Best Short Film, Environmental Film Festival at Yale, New Haven, CT, 2019
Best Animation, Nevada Women’s Film Festival, Las Vegas, NV 2019
Best Animated Short, SENE Fest, Providence, RI, 2019
Best Sound Design, Chesapeake Film Festival, Easton, MD, 2019
Best Environmental Short Film, Chesapeake Film Festival, Easton, MD, 2019
Best Animation, Big Muddy Film Festival, Carbondale, IL, 2019
First Prize, Made in Baltimore Short Film Festival, Baltimore, MD, 2018
Best Experimental, 2nd Place, Los Angeles Animation Festival, CA, 2018
Best of Festival, Peekskill Film Festival, Peekskill, NY, 2018
Best Animation, Peekskill Film Festival, Peekskills, NY, 2018
Award of Merit for Animation, University Film & Video Association, Las Cruces, NM, 2018
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS:
Maryland Film Festival, Baltimore, MD, World Premiere, 2018
Ajyal Film Festival, Doha, Qatar, 2018
Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Japan
Animation for Peace Program, 2018
Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor, MI, 2019
Cleveland International Film Festival, OH, 2019
Athens International Film Festival, Athens, OH, 2019
Canton Film Festival, Canton, OH, 2019
Cinekid, Amsterdam, 2019
High Falls Women's Film Festival, NY 2019
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, DC, 2019
Athens Animfest, Greece, 2019
ASIFA South Animation Conference and Festival 2019
San Francisco Independent Film Festival, CA, 2019
Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Shastaland, CA, 2019
Cinema Sousa, Xiamen Animation Festival, China, 2018
Vaasa Wildlife Festival, Finland, Finalist, 2018
Aesthetica Short Film Festival, York, UK, 2018
San Jose International Short Film Festival, San Jose, CA 2018
China International Green Film Week, 2018
Woods Hole Film Festival, Woods Hole, MA, 2018
Edmonton International Film Festival, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2018