Project Nim (1:33) 2011

Project Nim is a wonderfully engaging documentary about the chimpanzee who was taught sign language. The film intertwines interviews of the scientists and caretakers in present day with footage of Nim as a two week old baby as it tells Nim's life story. Nim's  story hits on all the human emotions - sadness, happiness, joy, loneliness and frustration. Nim is lent to a New York professor from an Oklahoma Primate Center as an experiment in a chimp's ability to communicate with humans through signing in the early 1970s. Nim lives with a family and is treated as a human child. Later, Nim is eventually sent to live in a county estate with his teachers/caretakers. The chimp learns an ever increasing amount of signs while learning other skills like smoking a joint with his teachers. When Nim reaches the age of five and attacks one of his teachers, he is sent back to the Primate Center. I highly recomment this documentary as it tells the behind the scenes story of Nim.