NOTES FROM THE FILMMAKERS
Synopsis
Unlocking the Cage follows animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his unprecedented challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans. After thirty years of struggling with ineffective animal welfare laws, Steve and his legal team, the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP), are making history by filing the first lawsuits that seek to transform an animal from a thing with no rights to a person with legal protections.
Supported by affidavits from primatologists around the world, Steve maintains that, based on scientific evidence, cognitively complex animals such as chimpanzees, whales, dolphins, and elephants have the capacity for limited personhood rights (such as bodily liberty) that would protect them from physical abuse. Using writs of habeas corpus (historically used to free humans from unlawful imprisonment), Wise argues on behalf of four captive chimpanzees in New York State.
This documentary captures 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.
About the Filmmakers
Unlocking the Cage was directed and produced by Chris Hegedus. Find out more about the film at unlockingthecagethefilm.com.
Critic Reviews
“Of course, as its title suggests, “Unlocking the Cage” is a kind of advocacy journalism, not an attempt to weigh the cons as well as the pros of whether non-humans should have human-like rights. But the film will surely have its own role to play in the arena that perhaps counts most: the court of public opinion.” – Godfrey Chesire. RogerEbert.com. Unlocking the Cage Movie Review (2016). 25 May 2016
Official Trailer
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I can’t watch it on any channel offered above, it’s gone 😢 or it isn’t available where I am 😢