From experiments in space travel and crash tests, to biomedical research, to roles in entertainment, chimpanzees have given their lives to benefit humankind. Now, a group of extraordinary people are working to give chimps a second chance at life. CHIMPANZEES: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY tells the compelling stories of chimpanzees rescued from research labs and retired to sanctuaries. The documentary features Save the Chimps, Fauna Foundation, and the Center for Great Apes, three organizations dedicated to sparing these creatures from life in a laboratory cage so that they can finally be allowed to live like chimps. The film is produced, directed, and narrated by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Allison Argo.
Discussion will be led by Rachel Weiss, J.D., President of the Laboratory Primate Advocacy Group. Ms. Weiss formerly worked at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta, where she served as lead care-tech in the Chimpanzee Infectious Disease building. Ms. Weiss later spent a year in Uganda habituating wild chimpanzees, and subsequently cared for former laboratory and zoo monkeys and chimpanzees at the Primate Rescue Center in Kentucky.
2006, 60 minutes. film website
Wolves and cougars, once driven to the edge of existence, are finding their way back -- from the Yellowstone plateau to the canyons of Zion, from the farm country of northern Minnesota to the rugged open range of the West. The film LORDS OF NATURE: LIFE IN A LAND OF GREAT PREDATORS tells the story of scientists now discovering the great carnivores as revitalizing forces of nature, and a society now learning tolerance for the beasts they had once banished. Exploring the vital ecological role that large predators play in restoring the health of America’s wild ecosystems, LORDS OF NATURE asks "Can people and predators coexist? Can we afford not to?"
Discussion will be led by Jim Ozier, who received an MS in Wildlife Biology from UGA in 1986 and is a
Program Manager at the Forsyth office of the Nongame Conservation
Section within the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife
Resources Division. He helps oversee state efforts to conserve
Georgia's diversity of inland birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals,
as well as the management of priority habitats on state and private
lands. Mr. Ozier recently served on the Florida Panther Recovery Team since
restoration to portions of the species' former range, which includes
Georgia, is a potential component of recovery.
2009, 60 minutes. film website
In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan lies a shocking secret that a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep hidden. The largest supplier of dolphins in the world is located in the picturesque town of Taijii, Japan. But the town has a dark, horrifying secret that it doesn't want the world to know. THE COVE tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of activists, filmmakers, and freedivers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate this hidden and deadly cove to uncover the truth about the international dolphin capture trade. THE COVE is an astounding piece of investigative journalism with the heart of an action thriller. Winner of the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival 2009.
Discussion will be led by Lori Marino, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University, where she is a leading researcher on intelligence in cetaceans such as dolphins, porpoises, and whales. We will also be joined by John Schacke, Ph.D., an adjunct professor at the UGA School of Ecology and head of the Georgia Dolphin Ecology Program which studies the ecology and behavior of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins.
2008, 96 minutes. film website
FOWL PLAY takes viewers on an unforgettable journey behind the closed doors of some of the country's largest egg production facilities and graphically illustrates the heartbreaking plight of laying hens, condemned to lives crowded inside file-drawer-sized cages. Mercy for Animals members infiltrate a series of factory farms across the U.S., recording video footage and rescuing sick and injured chickens from them as they go. Propelled by touching interviews with animal rescuers, undercover investigators, veterinarians, and animal behaviorists, FOWL PLAY brings us inspiring stories of the kind and courageous people fighting to protect the modern day hen -- perhaps the most abused and exploited animal on earth.
Discussion will be led by Janet Frick, Ph.D., Associate Head of the UGA Department of Psychology and Director of the UGA Infant Research Lab. Dr. Frick has a personal and professional interest in the psychological relationship between humans and other animals, and has taught a freshman seminar on this topic for the past two years. She also regularly teaches introductory and developmental psychology classes, where she leads her students in a careful examination of the ethical issues surrounding our use of animals (for research, food, clothing, and entertainment) and in the nature of intelligence (both in humans and in other species).
2009, 50 minutes. film website
C.C. Baird was America’s most notorious dog dealer. For years, he supplied the country’s research labs with thousands of animals. Some of the dogs were strays. Others were suspected to be stolen pets. DEALING DOGS tells the story of a dangerous six-month undercover investigation at Baird’s multi-million dollar operation, Martin Creek Kennel in Arkansas. "Pete" worked undercover to expose the pet theft, routine abuse of animals, and violations of the Animal Welfare Act that are the common marks of a Class "B" dog dealer. DEALING DOGS chronicles the daring investigation and its historic outcome when the evidence was handed over to federal authorities in an attempt to shut down Martin Creek Kennel -- and save the dogs being mistreated there.
Discussion will be led by Cheryl McAuliffe, Georgia Director for The Humane Society of the United States. As director, Ms. McAuliffe is active on many fronts to promote animal welfare legislation, fight animal cruelty in all forms, respond to animals in danger from disasters, and engage like-minded citizens to promote the protection of animals. She is also a board member of Georgia Legal Professionals for Animals.
2006, 70 minutes.