Our Story

In 2005, the Ivory Coast National Soccer Team, Les Elephants, produced one of the most important moments in the history of sport. On the back of their country's first World Cup qualification, they accomplished something even more remarkable: halting their country's three year civil war. Their national televised plea marked the beginning of a quest for peace that, over the next five years, would grow into a national drama played out on the country's airwaves and television screens, in its streets, on its soccer fields, and in its uppermost echelons of power. The end result - peace among their countrymen - would be a testament to sport's power to heal wounds, change lives, and shape the future of an entire nation.

The Impact

In the midst of a civil war that saw tens of thousands of Ivorians killed because of ethnic, religious, and regional differences, Les Elephants succeeded where others failed, bridging those divides through the country's fierce love of soccer. Now, Ivorians on both sides of the conflict, only recently having seen an end to the fighting, are in desperate need of a way to put their grievances behind them to ensure a future free from violence. In this state of tenuous peace, Les Elephants' role in national reconciliation is more important than ever.

By making this film, we intend to give the people of the Ivory Coast a lasting legacy of their most poignant and powerful moments of national unity, moments in which they looked past their differences and embraced one another as fans of Les Elephants. Our goal is to support Les Elephants' dream of transforming the Ivory Coast into a pillar of stability on the African Continent.

To this end, we plan to make this documentary as a non-profit production. All proceeds from the distribution of this film will go to charities working to improve conditions in the Ivory Coast. In addition, we hope to stage screenings of the film, upon its completion, throughout the country to give people without the means or access the opportunity to see the players they admire and idolize.

What We Need & What You Get

Filmmaking can be quite expensive and this is especially true in our case. In January 2012, Les Elephants travel to Equatorial Guinea and Gabon where they are favored to win the African Cup of Nations. Their performance there has the potential to do remarkable things for the Ivorian reconciliation effort, so much so that the President of the Ivory Coast has declared that a team victory will do more for the country's peace process than any direct political measure.

Our goal is to document the team as it competes in the tournament but this means we have a host of expenses we must account for: plane tickets, food, transportation, lodging, and film equipment. These expenses add up quickly and, unfortunately, our personal checkbooks will takes us only part of the way so this is why we are turning to you.

Any donation, regardless of size, brings us that much closer to telling this remarkable story. All that matters is we get to Africa to make this film. We understand things may be different right now but we're offering a suite of awesome perks that, hopefully, will motivate you to loosen your purse strings. These perks begins with a mention on our official production website and run all the way up to an "Executive Producer" credit. In between are unique gifts you'll be able to find only in association with this production. They're a great way to assist in a good cause and, if that isn't enough, they're the supporting evidence you'll need when you tell people you're involved in the film business.

Other Ways You Can Help

This fundraising campaign will succeed only if enough people visit our profile here on IndieGoGo and are motivated to donate. We're reaching out to everyone we know through every means available but there's no such thing as enough outreach. If you find yourself moved by the story we're trying to tell, please help us out by mentioning it to your friends, family, or even random people on the street. Beyond this campaign page, we have a number of ways you can contact us, beginning with our official website and extending out into the ether of social networking.