The Last Male Standing - Sudan

An interview with the creators of The Last Male Standing, a film about Sudan, the last male northern white rhino. 

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What advice do you think Sudan was giving little Ringo? 
​(The Last Male Standing - olpejeta)

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​The journey of this film started in 2014 through a successful Kickstarter and tells the story of the Kenyan caretakers that have dedicated their lives to the last male Northern White Rhino in the world, Sudan. On the 20th of March Sudan passed away, putting the sub-species close to extinction, with just two females left. IVF treatment is being trailed. 20% of the profits for this film will go back into wildlife conservation efforts and this interview with the directors gives an insight into this inspiring film. 

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​The Last Male Standing
with Andrew Harrison Brown (Producer) and David Hambridge (Director)
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Andrew:  David and I had been friends long before either of us were in the film industry.  But early in 2014, I had just returned from filming another project in East Africa, when I first mentioned the idea of creating a feature film around the lives of the men that cared 24/7 for Sudan and the Northern White Rhinos at Ol Pejeta Conservancy to David. I always appreciated David's ability as a filmmaker to form solid bonds with his subjects in his previous pieces of work and I thought his approach would fit the story we envisioned. Before you know it, we successfully raised just over $40,000 on Kickstarter and we went to Kenya.  

​David:  Ultimately, we believe this film is important because it will transcend the current echoing cries from wildlife conservationists and reach a new audience. We've taken a very intimate, human-focused approach and created a compelling character-driven story that we hope will resonate with all viewers - even those that aren't currently passionate or concerned with wildlife conservation.

Sudan's Caretakers

David: There is so much to say about the rhino caretakers at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Each member of the team is authentically unique.  Many of them come from different towns or villages, from different tribes, cultures and beliefs - but somehow despite their many differences, they have created a strong brotherhood.  It's a bond as strong as any that I've seen in my experience, and at its core, is one cause: to protect and serve these severely endangered rhinos. 

​​You can see the inspiring work by two of the rhino caretakers from Ol Pejeta that looked after Sudan and will be featured in the film here:

​James Mwenda
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Joseph Wachira

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'Our hearts go out to the men who stayed with Sudan at all times during his final moments - through the days and nights. Your steadfast love and dedication to Sudan in his final chapter was remarkable.
We are truly honoured to film your story.' (Andrew Harrison Brown - olpejeta) 

Film Trailer: The Last Male Standing 

Find out more information about the film here: www.thelastmalestanding.com

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​What have you learnt making this film? 

​David:  I've learned to trust my instincts as a filmmaker.  I've always wanted this film to be told by a Kenyan voice rather than the usual Western wildlife experts and scientists, but with that, I've had to be much more patient for my story to unfold.  Learning patience doesn't come cheap either.  I've had to sacrifice a lot of comforts and opportunities back in the U.S. because I was trying to build a full-bodied story in Kenya.  But in the end, I have no doubt that the story I've been able to capture will be worth it. 

Andrew: Over the last four years as a producer, my bandwidth has really been divided by two separate feature films: When Lambs Become Lions (Tribeca 2018) and The Last Male Standing.  During that time, I've learned that you cannot create interesting stories about someone without first being truly interested in them.  One thing that I appreciate about working with David is that we both value building relationships with the people that we're filming and we don't prioritize footage over people.  We both strive to create an environment during production where all voices matter, all ideas matter and everyone feels like they are welcome to contribute to the greater story.  That isn't always the case in many productions.

'Hope can be found in the smallest moments.' (Andrew Harrison Brown - olpejeta)

JoJo, one of Sudan’s caregivers visits his tombstone nearly 3 weeks after his death to clean the tombstone. Simply put, these guys haven’t stopped caring for him, even after death. Personally, they have taught me a new level of service and sacrifice - they’ve shown me in a very tangible and raw way what it truly means to dedicate yourself to a cause larger than yourself. While they’ve grieved and focused their sights on caring for other conservation efforts, you can’t spend time around Ol Pejeta without feeling the void of Sudan and the amount of love these men had for him. (Andrew Harrison Brown - olpejeta)

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On the March 19th Dr. Morne de La Rey extracts Sudan’s DNA from different parts of the body, a critical measure to save the northern white rhinos from extinction. By cryogenically banking Sudan’s DNA, scientists hope to use that genetic material to hopefully resurrect the species from their recent ‘natural’ extinction. (Andrew Harrison Brown - olpejeta)

Photography and film : A purpose​
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Andrew: I believe that the sole purpose of documentary filmmaking is to spark conversation throughout society.  Ironically, although we live in a period of time where our lives are filled with more noise than ever, it seems as though we are having fewer conversations with each other.  Everyone has an opinion that they want to share - or tweet - but there just doesn't seem to be a strong desire to listen. Everyone is just screaming statistics at each other in hopes of winning an argument, and in my experience, the only thing that consistently gets me out of that self-centric rut is when I stop long enough to listen to other people's stories.  I think that's the posture that we all need to squeeze ourselves into if we are going to grow past the current climate.  And that's what I love about documentary films.

We must remember the future generation and the environment they inherit. 
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David: At the end of the day, we hope our film carries Sudan's legacy and the sacrifice these caretakers have made out into the world. Sudan and the caretakers' story is overflowing with lessons that can benefit everyone, if we are just willing to listen. 

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You can find out more information about this inspiring film here:

Last Male Standing:
​Website
Instagram 
Facebook 
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Film Makers
Andrew Harrison Brown
David Hambridge

Rhino Guardians:
​James Mwenda 
​Joseph Wachira