Chimps: So Like Us

• Jane Goodall: itself

Chimps: So Like Us is an American documentary film by Kirk Simon and Karen Goodman, who was nominated in 1991 for an Oscar in the category "Best Documentary Short ".

Action

The film deals with Jane Goodall's work and observations in Gombe Stream National Park, located directly on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania. Since 1960, they observed there, the lifestyle and behavior of chimpanzees and stands up for her protection. The animals are presented within their family units and their emotions explained to those of people not dissimilar. Goodall advocates not to take this highly developed animals their habitat and their freedom and so they live in captivity, to treat humanely. It also recordings of chimpanzees are displayed in laboratories and reported on experiments that you do with them, just because they are so similar to humans.

Shown are young chimpanzees with each other to happily play within their family, in the arms of their mothers and the protection of family clans. It should be noted that their habitat is threatened by unscrupulous people for which only profit counts. Jane Goodall is shown in dealing with the animals and it becomes clear how she is familiar with them and how that trust in the relationship formed with the animals affect each other.

Production and background

The film images were taken in New York, Arizona and Tanzania. The film was broadcasted several times on HBO.

Jane Goodall ( b. 1934 ) is a British primatologist, known for their long-term studies on apes. Since 1960 she has been with chimpanzees and published extensive literature about them. They vehemently against animal testing and violence against animals, which also implies that it requires certain rights for great apes, which are similar to those of human rights. Since 2002 she has peace ambassador for the UN. The Nobel Prize committee was invited by her to create a Nobel Prize for alternative methods to animal testing.

Award

Academy Awards 1991: Nominated for an Oscar in the category " Documentary " ( short film ) for Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon. The award was Steven Okazaki and his film Days of Waiting, which tells of the adventures of Caucasian artist Estelle Ishigo during the Second World War.