SYNOPSIS: In 1977, acclaimed director Barbet Schroeder and cinematographer Nestor Almendros entered the universe of the world’s most famous primate to create the captivating documentary Koko: A Talking Gorilla. The film introduces us to Koko soon after she was brought from the San Francisco Zoo to Stanford University by Dr. Penny Patterson for a controversial experiment—she would be taught the basics of human communication through American Sign Language. An entertaining, troubling, and still relevant documentary, Koko: A Talking Gorilla sheds light on the ongoing ethical and philosophical debates over the individual rights of animals and brings us face-to-face with an amazing gorilla caught in the middle.
| Director | Barbet Schroeder |
| Associate producers | Dale Djerassi and Barbet Schroeder |
| Cinematography | Nestor Almendros |
| Additional footage | Ned Burgess |
| Editing | Denise De Casabianca and Dominique Auvray |
| Production | Margaret Menegoz |
| Production assistant | George Csicsery |
By July 10, 2006
Barbet Schroeder is a director who prefers the appellation “explorer” to that of “auteur,” and again and again his films demonstrate both his intense curiosity about the unexplored Read more »
