Across the seasons, the film gives an account of life and work and the animals and visitors at Zurich Zoo, an institution that is one of the leading zoological gardens in Europe. Animals in their cages, humans in the cinema. What lies between them?
This James A. FitzPatrick Traveltalks short visits the West German cities of Hamburg, Bremen, Munich, and Heidelberg. Included are scenes of World War II destruction that lingered at the time.
Glimpses of Western Germany
1954
6
This look behind the scenes shows how worldwide camera crews climbed, dived and froze to capture the documentary's groundbreaking night footage.
Night on Earth: Shot in the Dark
2020
6
Artis, the Netherlands’ oldest zoo, is about to undergo its most radical renovation in its 178 years of existence. The inspired managing director has a very clear mission – but, is this mission at the same time not a threat to himself, his employees and his animals? And also: how can we look after our environment whilst at the same time we wish to reduce our influence on it?
Het nieuwe Artis
2018
0
Travel around the globe to some of the best zoos, which are striving to fill a new role that relates directly to environmental education.
Zoos of the World
1970
0
Checkpoint Zoo documents a daring rescue led by a heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers, who risked their lives to save thousands of animals trapped in a zoo behind enemy lines in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
Checkpoint Zoo
2024
0
For more than a century the great colonial powers put human beings, taken by force from their native lands, on show as entertainment, just like animals in zoos; a shameful, outrageous and savage treatment of people who were considered subhuman.
Sauvages, au cœur des zoos humains
2018
7
Documentary telling the extraordinary story of Koko, the only 'talking' gorilla in the world, and her lifelong relationship with Penny Patterson. Project Koko started as a PhD project to teach sign language to a baby gorilla, but as Koko began to communicate with Penny, an intense bond formed between them. Penny has now been with Koko for over 40 years and claims Koko can reveal fresh insights into the workings of an animal's mind. Koko's unique life with Penny has been filmed every step of the way. Over 2,000 hours of footage chart the most dramatic moments - Penny's battle to keep Koko from being taken back to the zoo in which she was born, Penny's clash with academic critics who doubted her claims and the image of Koko mourning the death of her kitten.
Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People
2016
7
Elephants are among the most majestic and intelligent creatures on Earth--but for hundreds of years, they have suffered at the hands of humans. Narrated by Lily Tomlin, this documentary short traces our long history with elephants and explores the many problems that arise when they are brought to live in captivity in zoos and circuses.
An Apology to Elephants
2013
7
Born to Be Wild observes various orphaned jungle animals and their day-to-day behavioural interactions with the individuals who rescue them and raise them to adulthood. The film unfurls in two separate geographic spheres. Half of it takes place in the rain forests of Borneo, where celebrated primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas assists baby orangutans; the other half takes place on the arid savannahs of Kenya, where zoologist Dame Daphne Sheldrick works with baby elephant calves.
Born to Be Wild
2011
7
A documentary that follows Dr. Penny Patterson's current scientific study of Koko, a gorilla who communicates through American Sign Language.
Koko, le gorille qui parle
1978
7
Documentary by Jean-Pierre Gorin about twin girls who spontaneously developed their own unique language as children.
Poto and Cabengo
1980
6
A film portrait of Schönbrunn Zoo, a modern zoo that represents the radical change in the relationship between humans and animals like no other.
Tiergarten
2024
0
The tragic death of a polar bear triggers the end of the Buenos Aires Zoo. A superhero lover lawyer asks a court to declare the orangutan Sandra a Non-Human Person and revolutionizes the planet. A very Argentine story, full of passions, embarrassing missteps and memorable characters.
Zoofobia
2022
8
A male lion, right next to bars that are about 6 or 8 inches apart, keenly watches a uniformed zoo attendant toss small morsels of food into the cage. The lion alternates between finding the food on the cage floor and reaching through the bars to swipe at the man, who stays alarmingly close to the beast. In the background are the large rocks and brick wall at the back of the lion's habitat.
Lion
1896
5
"The World's Loneliest Elephant" Kaavan will finally experience freedom, thanks to his biggest champion, the one & only Cher. We'll follow Cher, Free The Wild, Four Paws International, and Kaavan on every step of the trip.
Cher & the Loneliest Elephant
2021
8
Exposing the dark underbelly of modern animal agriculture through drones, hidden & handheld cameras, the feature-length film explores the morality and validity of our dominion over the animal kingdom.
Dominion
2018
8
Curiosity and Control examines our complex relationship to nature itself. A multi layered look at the world of Museums of Natural History and Zoological gardens, with voices from historians, authors, architects and zoo managers. It raises questions about how we perceive nature and our contradictory behavior of caging what we fear may be lost.
Curiosity and Control
2018
7
A perfect, fast and hilarious montage. Using images from Artis (Amsterdam Zoo), Bert Haanstra shows that a couple of similarities can be discovered between human and animal. Particularly the manner in which human and ape are confronted with each other, is significant. The images speak for themselves, human voices or commentary is absent. The ironic music of Pim Jacobs does add an extra dimension to the whole. With regards to human and animal Haanstra limits himself for the time being to this short film, recorded with a hidden camera. Later on, in several big films, he would return to this subject.
Zoo
1961
6
Hosted by Keeley Hawes, star of the popular television series The Durrells, this documentary reveals the adventures of the eccentric Durrell family once they left Corfu, Greece.
What The Durrells Did Next
2019
6
This moving, family documentary goes behind the scenes at The Big Bear Alpine Zoo, which is only one of two high elevation, Alpine Zoos in the United States.
Alpine Zoos and You
2020
0