The story of "Chimpanzee" takes place in Cote D'Ivore and tells the story of the young chimpanzee Oscar. He first lives as many young chimpanzees in his group; however, during a conflict with another group of chimpanzees, his mother disappears and Oscar is faced with an unclear future. He appears doomed until the alpha male of his group adopts Oscar.

The movie is based on observations made by scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. The film was shot in the Tai National Park in Cote D'Ivore, in Uganda and Gabun over a period of two and a half years. Christophe Boesch of the MPI in Leipzig and Jane Goodall served as scientific advisers. The movie received was well received. Nevertheless, a controversy started after the airing of "Chimpanzee", as the movie shows the natural behavior of chimpanzees, but combined independent scenes to tell the story.

We are happy to welcome Tobias Deschner from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, who will step in as expert commentator for the previously announced Roman Wittig. Tobias Deschner not only studies the chimpanzees of Tai and is familiar with the animals starring in the movie, but he was also collaborating and working with the film crew. With him, we want to talk about the science behind the movie and the social life of chimpanzees, but we also want to take a look behind the scenes. With his experiences in working with film crews, Tobias Deschner can tell us about the benefits (and potential disadvantages) of working with film-makers, which is of relevance for scientists, students and the general public.

We will screen the original English version