UK multiplatform production business ImpactWild has partnered with German-run chimpanzee research organisation the Ozouga Society to produce a documentary that highlights the issue of chimps being used as food in Africa.
Re:Think Chimps aims to inform, entertain and change the way chimps are viewed in African countries. It has been created for local audiences who rarely see a chimp in the wild and who perhaps have never seen an international documentary where they feature. It will also highlight the primates’ comical behaviour, which is often similar to that of humans.
The Ozouga Society has studied chimps in Gabon, Central Africa, for more than 15 years, making discoveries including the fact that they use insects to heal wounds. Cherique Pohl, founder of ImpactWild, will make use of the last four years of footage from the Ozouga Society to create the behaviour-led film.
Re:Think Chimp is ImpactWild’s first TV documentary. The half-hour film, which will also be overseen by an experienced Gabonese scriptwriter, will air on Gabon Culture Television and French-speaking African channels, in addition to being pitched to international buyers.
On top of this, ImpactWild will produce short, shareable clips that will feature local researchers and will be made freely available in French-speaking Africa via WhatsApp and YouTube.
Pohl said: “ImpactWild was established as a force for good, seeking to end the exploitation of wildlife and wild places through informing and inspiring critical audiences. Having grown up in Africa, I know only too well that local people do not always have access to the same information we do in the West about declining wildlife populations and disappearing habitats.
“So, the ambition with this project is to use the extraordinary footage from the Ozouga Society to not only create an engaging and entertaining film, but one that also encourages reappraisal and changes behaviour. Most wildlife filmmaking is undertaken sympathetically and filmmakers work hard to raise issues, but we are dedicated to creating real impact with our work to ensure we effect meaningful change on the ground.”
tagged in: ImpactWild, Re:Think Chimps