"Kanzi: the ape that could talk"
Wildstar Films (a Fremantle company) is in production on a documentary telling the real-life story of the world’s most famous ape, in an exclusive partnership with Ape Initiative. The announcement comes following the sad news of Kanzi’s death last week.
Kanzi, a bonobo taught to ‘speak’ English, lived in the spotlight. His extraordinary ability to communicate using a pictures board and an understanding of thousands of words made him known the world over. He was a guest on talk shows, played music with Peter Gabriel, and recently became famous on YouTube for completing Minecraft. Kanzi could cook, light fires, and even drive a car. But living a life of scientific study also took its toll.
Wildstar Films has been filming with Kanzi and at his home at Ape Initiative in Iowa and has been given exclusive access to hundreds of boxes of tapes documenting 45 years of Kanzi’s life. Putting Kanzi front and centre of his own story, diving into the scientific breakthroughs and phenomenal capabilities he achieved, the film will be both entertaining and uncomfortably insightful.
Wildstar Films Executive Producer Chloe Sarosh consider the subject of the documentary, a figure worthy of being revealed: “Kanzi was an enigmatic figure, both in science and pop culture. But behind the scenes, the scientific pursuit to see how human we could make an ape, reveals some difficult questions. Wildstar has been given exclusive access to extraordinary never-before-seen archive that reveals a life that is sometimes sweet and hilarious, but at other times deeply troubling," stated.
Ape Initiative’s Dr. Jared Taglialatela, who had been Kanzi’s caretaker since 2012 considered the documentary a recognition of his loyal friend: “I feel his loss personally and deeply; I considered him my friend. Kanzi lived an extraordinary life, and I look forward to working with Wildstar to produce a documentary that celebrates his achievements but also shines a light on some of the progress and missteps we have made in science. If anyone deserves a film about their life, it’s Kanzi," noted.
Wildstar Films is currently in production on "Amol Rajan Goes to the Ganges" (working title), a one-hour documentary special exploring the biggest gathering on Earth – the Maha Kumbh Mela Festival – in Northern India, which is due to launch next month on BBC One and iPlayer, together with landmark series including "Sentient", in partnership with Darren Aronofsky and Protozoa Pictures, "Underdogs" - a co-production with Ryan Reynolds and Maximum Effort for Disney+, and a third season of the Emmy Award-winning "Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory", also for Disney+. Other recent productions include the Emmy Award-winning series "Queens" and "Secrets of the Octopus", together with feature documentaries "Tiger" and "Tigers on the Rise".