Project Nim

PROJECT NIM DVD Review

by Keith Demko    Posted: February 14th, 2012 at 6:28 am

With British documentary maker James Marsh’s often wild mix of genuine footage and re-creations, in lesser hands his movies could easily slip into something approaching an episode of Cops.  But luckily, as he proved with the Oscar-winning Man on a Wire and now again with Project Nim, he has the ability to blend the formats into an engaging narrative that pushes the definition of documentary filmmaking without ever breaking them down completely. In Nim, he tells the epic and often harrowing tale of a chimpanzee who becomes a pawn caught in the middle of the nature vs. nurture debate with visual verve and a genuine flair for storytelling.  You can read Matt’s review of the film from Sundance 2011 here. Hit the jump for a review of Project Nim on DVD.

Michel Hazanavicius Wins Feature Film Directors Guild Award for THE ARTIST

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 29th, 2012 at 10:28 am

The Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year will go to The Artist. It’s over. Call off the dogs. The little silent film that could will be crowned the winner at next month’s ceremony. After riding a pretty solid frontrunner status throughout the past two months, the film has now picked up two of the most important Oscar precursor awards: the Producers Guild Award and the Directors Guild Award. Michel Hazanavicius was given the Best Feature Film director award at last night’s DGA ceremony, besting the likes of Hugo’s Martin Scorsese and The Descendants’ Alexander Payne.

The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but with the PGA and DGA in hand, there’s virtually zero chance of anything upsetting The Artist for Best Picture. I’m not saying Hazanavicius isn’t deserving of the DGA, as his crafting of the silent pic is certainly commendable (though I’m partial to Scorsese’s work on Hugo), I’m just pointing out that we’re most likely in for an incredibly predictable ceremony come next month. Hit the jump to see the full list of DGA winners in both film and television. The 84th Academy Awards will be held February 26th.

Directors Guild Award Documentary Nominees Announced; includes PROJECT NIM, THE INTERRUPTERS, and Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison Doc

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 12th, 2012 at 1:07 pm

On the heels of announcing their nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2011, the Directors Guild of America have announced their nominations for Best Documentary Director.  The nominees are Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky for Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Steve James for The Interrupters, James Marsh for Project Nim, Richard Press for Bill Cunningham New York, and Martin Scorsese for George Harrison: Living in the Material World.  Scorsese also picked up DGA nomination this year for Hugo, which brings his total number of nominations to ten.  He previously won for The Departed.

While I’m rooting for Project Nim, this is a fine collection of nominees.  It’s much better than the Academy’s short list, which only includes Project Nim, Paradise Lost 3, and Bill Cunningham New York.  The winner of the DGA’s 2011 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary will be announced January 28th.

Top 10 Films of 2011

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 29th, 2011 at 7:14 pm

Between festivals and theatrical releases, I saw over 100 new films this year.  Some were awful, some were good, and some were mediocre.  And then there were the movies that stayed with me, and more importantly, held up on repeat viewings.  In past years, I’ve usually only had one chance to watch a movie and sometimes the initial positive impression was enough to land it on my annual Top 10 list.  Then I looked back on the list six months later and realized some films shouldn’t have made the cut.  This year, I got to attend major festivals and received “For Your Consideration screeners, which made it easier to double-check movies I enjoyed.  If you’re wondering why movies that originally received an a high rating didn’t make the list, it’s because while I still liked them on a second viewing, their faults became more apparent.  The movies on my Top Ten list became better on repeat viewings and I look forward to watching them again and again over the years.

Hit the jump to check out my picks for the Top 10 films of 2011.

Producers Guild of America Announces Best Documentary Nominees

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 2nd, 2011 at 9:43 am

The Producers Guild of America has announced their nominees for Best Documentary of 2011. When it comes to feature film, the PGA and the Oscars almost always coincide, but the Academy overlooked some critically acclaimed film when it came to making their 15-film shortlist.  Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest and Senna didn’t make the Academy’s shortlist, but the PGA has shown a little more sense and nominated these films for Best Documenatry.  They’ve also shown love to Bill Cunningham New York, Project Nim, and The Union. Right now I’m rooting for Project Nim, but keep in mind that the only other film I’ve seen on this list is Senna (which is also awards-worthy).

Hit the jump for the full press release.  Television series nominations for the 2012 Producers Guild Awards will be announced December 7, 2011.  All other nominations for the 2012 Producers Guild Award categories will be announced January 3, 2012, along with the individual producers.  The winners will be announced on January 21, 2012.

15 Documentaries Advance for the 84th Annual Academy Awards

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: November 18th, 2011 at 2:49 pm

Now that the Oscars officially have a host and a producer, we can get down to focusing on the films that will compete for the awards. Out of a pool of 124 qualified documentary pictures vying for contention, 15 have advanced through the voting process. This list will be further whittled down by the Documentary Branch Screening Committee to a selection of five nominees. Some of the 15 films include:  Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, about the continuing legal battles of the West Memphis Three (3); Project Nim, a study of Nim, the chimpanzee who was raised as a human child to allow researchers to discern the differences between men and beasts; and Buck, the story of Buck Brannaman, the real life Horse Whisperer. Notably absent from the list: the extremely well-received Formula-1 racing doc Senna. Hit the jump to see the rest.

PROJECT NIM Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 8th, 2011 at 6:30 am

[This review is a re-post of the review I posted at Sundance.  I'm re-posting it because Project Nim opens in theaters today and it's one of the best films I've seen all year.]

What separates men from beasts?  What at first seems like an easy question yields no obvious answer in the captivating and fascinating documentary, Project Nim.  Nim was a chimpanzee who was ripped away from his mother in the early 1970s and put into an experiment to see if he could communicate with sign language provided if he was raised and treated like a human child.  What was already a tricky proposition became almost impossible when combined with the bizarre and dubious cast of characters who surrounded the young chimp.  Through magnificent use of re-enactments, interviews, and powerful archive footage, Project Nim is a film that not only has you turning over questions on the nature of humanity, but it also inspires laughter, shock, revulsion, and heartbreak in seeing how Nim swings between dangerous animal and lovable companion.

New Posters for LARRY CROWNE, PROJECT NIM and SALVATION BOULEVARD

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 18th, 2011 at 4:18 pm

A few new posters have been released today. First up, the one-sheet for Larry Crowne has been unveiled. Co-written, directed by, and starring Tom Hanks, the flick centers on a laid-off middle-aged man (Hanks) who goes back to college and strikes up a relationship with one of his professors (Julia Roberts). Additionally, the poster for Tim Marsh’s (Man on Wire) documentary Project Nim has been released. That film follows the real-life project in the ‘70s that set out to teach a chimpanzee (lovingly named Nim Chimpsky) sign language in an effort to bridge the gap between man and beast.

Finally, we have the poster for Salvation Boulevard. The religion-centered comedy premiered at Sundance and stars Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear and Jim Gaffigan. Hit the jump to check out the posters and synopses for Larry Crowne, Project Nim and Salvation Boulevard.

First Trailer for PROJECT NIM

by Bill Graham    Posted: May 6th, 2011 at 4:23 pm

The first trailer for the highly anticipated Project Nim has finally hit the web, and it was worth the wait. Hot on the heels of his Academy Award for Man on Wire, director James Marsh has picked a topic that has resonated through the festival circuit so far. The documentary follows the real-life project in the ‘70s that set out to teach a chimpanzee (lovingly named Nim Chimpsky) sign language in an effort to bridge the gap between man and beast. As with teaching any wild animal and given loose restrictions, chaos can ensue but sanity did prevail and genuine progress was made. Hit the jump for the trailer, logline, and what Matt had to say about the film during Sundance.

2011 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 30th, 2011 at 8:49 am

The Sundance Film Festival Juries have selected the winners of the 2011 awards.  The big winner is Like Crazy, which won both the Grand Jury Prize (Dramatic) and a Special Jury Prize for actress Felicity Jones.  Naturally, Like Crazy already has a distribution deal in place with Paramount.  Circumstance, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Pariah are a few of the other winners in the dramatic competition.Notable documentary winners include How to Die in Oregon, Buck, and Project Nim. 

Click here for all of our coverage of Sundance, including reviews and distribution reports for these films and more.  Hit the jump for the full list of winners and the juries who handed out the awards.

Sundance 2011: SALVATION BOULEVARD, PROJECT NIM and THE LAST MOUNTAIN Find Distributors

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 27th, 2011 at 6:59 pm

Another day at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, another day of acquisitions. A trio of films that premiered as part of Sundance nabbed distributors today. IFC Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide picked up North American rights to the comedy Salvation Boulevard starring Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear and Jim Gaffigan. HBO and Roadside Attractions partnered up to acquire the documentary Project Nim, about an ape learning to communicate. Finally, Dada Films grabbed US theatrical rights to the coal company vs. small community documentary The Last Mountain. Regarding the acquisition of Salvation Boulevard, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films Jonathan Sebring had this to say:

“George Ratliff takes a big leap forward with this film which, aside from featuring a powerhouse cast in Pierce Brosnan, Marisa Tomei, Greg Kinnear, Ed Harris, Jim Gaffigan and Jennifer Connelly, is a clever and sharp comedy that delivers.”

Hit the jump to read the full press releases for each of the films. Be sure to check out all of our Sundance coverage (including interviews, reviews and acquisitions) here.

Sundance 2011: PROJECT NIM Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 20th, 2011 at 11:45 pm

What separates men from beasts?  What at first seems like an easy question yields no obvious answer in the captivating and fascinating documentary, Project Nim.  Nim was a chimpanzee who was ripped away from his mother in the early 1970s and put into an experiment to see if he could communicate with sign language provided if he was raised and treated like a human child.  What was already a tricky proposition became almost impossible when combined with the bizarre and dubious cast of characters who surrounded the young chimp.  Through magnificent use of re-enactments, interviews, and powerful archive footage, Project Nim is a film that not only has you turning over questions on the nature of humanity, but it also inspires laughter, shock, revulsion, and heartbreak in seeing how Nim swings between dangerous animal and lovable companion.

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