Overview

• National Geographic Documentary Films acquired world streaming rights, with a 2026 release planned on Disney+ and Hulu.
• Ghost Elephants premiered out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, where Herzog received a lifetime achievement Golden Lion presented by Francis Ford Coppola.
• A U.S. festival bow is set at Telluride, extending the film’s rollout following its Venice launch.
• Written, directed and narrated by Herzog, the documentary follows conservation biologist Dr. Steve Boyes into Angola’s highlands to seek so‑called ghost elephants and collect DNA for comparison to the Smithsonian’s Fénykövi specimen.
• Review coverage notes that multiple laboratories are still analyzing samples from the expedition, with results expected to be published later.