PRIMATE (1974)

“It is essentially about one set of primates who have power, using it against another who haven't.” - Guardian

Prolific documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman (whose La Danse is also screening in this year's program) has devoted his career to the observation of social institutions, such as hospitals, zoos and schools, exploring their functioning and the way that we relate to them.

With a detached but fascinated eye, Wiseman looks at the Yerkes Primate Research Center, where scientists investigate primates in terms of mental and physical development.

Observing just another day at the lab, Primate shows ethically questionable procedures that raise a multitude of questions surrounding the pursuit of human knowledge and its many repercussions.