The Chimpanzee Complex
Marc Schmidt
| Switzerland, Netherlands
| 2014
| 75 min
Mojo’s favourite food is spaghetti, and he is partial to washing it down with a glass of French red. So far so ordinary, but Mojo is a chimpanzee. His 30 years in a small Belgian village has ill-prepared him for life in this Dutch rescue centre that teaches chimps to live with their own kind. The resident chimps, mostly traumatised, have been raised by humans as pets or circus entertainers, and are watched over and gently guided by a team of caretakers. Director Marc Schmidt observes the keepers and their charges up close in this touching and intimate film that explores the species’ divide. The temptation to see human behaviour in the chimps is high, but how much can we really learn from our distant cousins?
Director Marc Schmidt
Producer Vadim Jendreyko, Hercli Bundi, Susanne Guggenberger, Simone van den Broek
Premiere Australian Premiere
Section International Competition
Festival Year 2015