Unlocking the Cage

Streaming video - 2016

Unlocking the Cagefollows animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his unprecedented challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans. Arguing that cognitively complex animals such as chimpanzees, whales, dolphins and elephants have the capacity for limited personhood rights, Steve and his legal team are making history by filing the first lawsuits that seek to transform a chimpanzee from a "thing"with no rights to a "person"with legal protections. Unlocking the Cagecaptures a monumental shift in our culture, as the public and judicial system show increasing receptiveness to Steve’s impassioned arguments. It is an intimate look at a lawsuit that could forever transform our legal system, and one man�...�s lifelong quest to protect "nonhuman"animals..."Thoughtful, Compelling and Heroic. The film made me proud to be a primate." - Jon Stewart.."In their new documentary, 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. Observant and absorbing." - A.O. Scott, The New York Times.."Engaging... makes a worthy case for reconsidering the sturdiness of laws that explicitly separate humans from animals. With legal-thriller pacing and emotional intelligence, it chronicles attorney Steven Wise’s gung-ho effort to get a U.S. court to recognize a chimpanzee as a legal person with protections, as opposed to a legal "thing"without rights." - Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times more