Milwaukee County Zoo

Artis, the Netherlands’ oldest zoo, is about to undergo its most radical renovation in its 178 years of existence. The inspired managing director has a very clear mission – but, is this mission at the same time not a threat to himself, his employees and his animals? And also: how can we look after our environment whilst at the same time we wish to reduce our influence on it?

This look behind the scenes shows how worldwide camera crews climbed, dived and froze to capture the documentary's groundbreaking night footage.

This James A. FitzPatrick Traveltalks short visits the West German cities of Hamburg, Bremen, Munich, and Heidelberg. Included are scenes of World War II destruction that lingered at the time.

Documentary telling the extraordinary story of Koko, the only 'talking' gorilla in the world, and her lifelong relationship with Penny Patterson. Project Koko started as a PhD project to teach sign language to a baby gorilla, but as Koko began to communicate with Penny, an intense bond formed between them. Penny has now been with Koko for over 40 years and claims Koko can reveal fresh insights into the workings of an animal's mind. Koko's unique life with Penny has been filmed every step of the way. Over 2,000 hours of footage chart the most dramatic moments - Penny's battle to keep Koko from being taken back to the zoo in which she was born, Penny's clash with academic critics who doubted her claims and the image of Koko mourning the death of her kitten.

Bill Moyers tells the story of several hardworking Milwaukee families struggling with low-paying jobs after previous employers downsized their operations. Filmed over a period of five years, these families were first featured in Moyers’s 1992 documentary ‘Minimum Wages: The New Economy.’ FRONTLINE chronicles the families’ emotional and financial strains, their search for better jobs and job retraining, and looks at Milwaukee’s efforts to adapt to an ever-shrinking industrial sector.

A documentary that follows Dr. Penny Patterson's current scientific study of Koko, a gorilla who communicates through American Sign Language.

Bill Moyers takes a piercing look at how global economic changes are destroying the lives and livelihoods of hardworking Americans. The documentary follows several individuals and their families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as they fight to make ends meet in the “new economy.” In sheer numbers, more jobs were created than lost in America during the last decade, but a look behind those numbers reveals a shortage of jobs that pay enough to support a family. The program intimately portrays the lives of workers and their families as they struggle to make it in today’s job market.

Elephants are among the most majestic and intelligent creatures on Earth--but for hundreds of years, they have suffered at the hands of humans. Narrated by Lily Tomlin, this documentary short traces our long history with elephants and explores the many problems that arise when they are brought to live in captivity in zoos and circuses.

This moving, family documentary goes behind the scenes at The Big Bear Alpine Zoo, which is only one of two high elevation, Alpine Zoos in the United States.

Checkpoint Zoo documents a daring rescue led by a heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers, who risked their lives to save thousands of animals trapped in a zoo behind enemy lines in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

Born to Be Wild observes various orphaned jungle animals and their day-to-day behavioural interactions with the individuals who rescue them and raise them to adulthood. The film unfurls in two separate geographic spheres. Half of it takes place in the rain forests of Borneo, where celebrated primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas assists baby orangutans; the other half takes place on the arid savannahs of Kenya, where zoologist Dame Daphne Sheldrick works with baby elephant calves.

For more than a century the great colonial powers put human beings, taken by force from their native lands, on show as entertainment, just like animals in zoos; a shameful, outrageous and savage treatment of people who were considered subhuman.

Taking the City By Storm: The Birth of Milwaukee's Punk Scene is a documentary focusing on the progression of Milwaukee's Protopunk, Punk, New Wave, and Alternative music scene from 1975-1985.

Records the highs and lows of a season that came close to winning the championship. Chronicles the 40-year love affair between a struggling blue-collar city and a perfectly matched blue-collar team.

Curiosity and Control examines our complex relationship to nature itself. A multi layered look at the world of Museums of Natural History and Zoological gardens, with voices from historians, authors, architects and zoo managers. It raises questions about how we perceive nature and our contradictory behavior of caging what we fear may be lost.

"The World's Loneliest Elephant" Kaavan will finally experience freedom, thanks to his biggest champion, the one & only Cher. We'll follow Cher, Free The Wild, Four Paws International, and Kaavan on every step of the trip.

After Dontre Hamilton, a black, unarmed man diagnosed with schizophrenia, was shot 14 times and killed by police in Milwaukee, his family embarks on a quest for answers, justice and reform as the investigation unfolds.

Documentary by Jean-Pierre Gorin about twin girls who spontaneously developed their own unique language as children.

A perfect, fast and hilarious montage. Using images from Artis (Amsterdam Zoo), Bert Haanstra shows that a couple of similarities can be discovered between human and animal. Particularly the manner in which human and ape are confronted with each other, is significant. The images speak for themselves, human voices or commentary is absent. The ironic music of Pim Jacobs does add an extra dimension to the whole. With regards to human and animal Haanstra limits himself for the time being to this short film, recorded with a hidden camera. Later on, in several big films, he would return to this subject.

Exposing the dark underbelly of modern animal agriculture through drones, hidden & handheld cameras, the feature-length film explores the morality and validity of our dominion over the animal kingdom.