''Unlocking the Cage'' is a 2016 American documentary film about the work of the

Nonhuman Rights Project The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) is an American nonprofit animal rights organization seeking to change the legal status of at least some nonhuman animals from that of property to that of persons, with a goal of securing rights to bodily libert ...

(NhRP) and lawyer Steven Wise's efforts to grant limited legal personhood rights to chimpanzees, whales, dolphins and elephants. It was directed by

D. A. Pennebaker Donn Alan Pennebaker (; July 15, 1925 – August 1, 2019) was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci ...

and Chris Hegedus. It was the final film directed by Pennebaker before his death in August 2019. A. O. Scott of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' praised the film, writing that "D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus bring their relaxed, acute observational style of filmmaking to bear on a thorny tangle of legal and philosophical questions. Part courtroom drama, part rumination on what separates human beings from other animals, the film is above all a sympathetic portrait of an advocate...it is hard to watch ''Unlocking the Cage'' without being somewhat swayed by the arguments — or at least impressed by the sincerity — of Steven Wise." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called it an "exemplary animal rights documentary", and that it "presents some fascinating legal and ethical issues". However, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

s critic, Peter Debruge, accused Wise of "trying to trick a series of New York state judges into granting chimpanzees the same rights as humans" and called his efforts a "publicity stunt."

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*
''Unlocking the Cage''
at

First Run Features First Run Features is an independent film distribution company based in New York City. History First Run was founded in 1979 by a group of filmmakers in order to advance the distribution of independent film. In the 1980s, the company focused ...

''Unlocking the Cage''
on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

* 2016 films 2016 documentary films American documentary films Documentary films about animal rights Films directed by D. A. Pennebaker HBO documentary films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{nature-documentary-film-stub

See also

References

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