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In 2020, director Pippa Ehrlich wowed viewers and critics alike with her Oscar-winning documentary, “My Octopus Teacher,” a film which follows free-diving filmmaker Craig Foster as he befriends an octopus living in a South African kelp forest.
On April 21, Netflix released Ehrlich’s much-anticipated follow-up, “Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey.”
The emotional documentary hinges on the rescue and rehabilitation of a baby pangolin — the most trafficked mammal in the world.
“Pangolins are some of the most ancient and unique mammals that have ever walked the Earth,” Ehrlich told People Magazine before the film’s release.
“Over millions of years of evolution, they have traded their claws and fangs for protective scales and a finely tuned intuition that makes them deeply sensitive, innocent creatures: they can't run or bite, and their only defense is to roll up in a ball.”
Ehrlich said wildlife photographer and conservationist Gareth Thomas, Kulu’s “adoptive father,” was the perfect entry point for her latest documentary.
“When I met Gareth, I was immediately fascinated by his relationship with these gentle and mysterious animals,” Ehrlich explained.
“But the reason I wanted to make the film is that I believe pangolins are a symbol of our own fragile existence on this planet, along with so many of the vulnerable beings that belong here with us.”
In the week following its release, the documentary has been met with critical acclaim. At the time of publication, the film had 100% positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
“I knew zero about pangolins before watching this film, but as corny as it sounds, I fell in love with the cute little fella by the end,” David Rooney wrote for The Hollywood Reporter.
“Ehrlich again captures that inexplicable, rare and soulful union between human and beast in which there are equal stakes, souls and emotional wisdom,” Tom Meek observed for Cambridge Day.
“The healing goes both ways in the documentary ‘Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey,’ as a troubled man and an endangered mammal form a startling bond,” Jeannette Catsoulis surmised in her review for The New York Times.
“The result is a movie so sweet and soothing,” she added, “you’ll be forced to admit that sometimes the universe — or, in this case, Netflix — gives you exactly what you need.”
Today, all eight species of pangolins are listed as vulnerable or critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
Due to illegal poaching and trafficking, pangolins can be difficult to spot in the wild.
Last year, when wildlife experts saw a pangolin on a trail camera in Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park, it was the first time the species had been spotted locally since 1999.
As the Netflix documentary propels pangolins into the public eye, Ehrlich hopes the newfound attention inspires conservation efforts and raises much-needed awareness for the highly endangered animal.
“They’ve got a magical quality; they are a mammal but they’re covered in scales,” Ehrlich told CNN. “You just don’t want pangolins to be seen only as the world’s most trafficked mammal. You want them to be seen as these joyful, unique, special little creatures.”
Header image and logo asset via Netflix
