Project Nim: A Documentary by James Marsh

Project Nim, a 2011 documentary by filmmaker James Marsh, tells the story of a controversial 1970s experiment in which a human family was tasked with raising a chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky and teaching him sign language. The film deftly explores the complex nature of human-chimp interactions and of language acquisition, raising the question: what truly separates humans and great apes?

The film is free to stream for JHU affiliates via Kanopy. Don’t have a Kanopy account? Register for one here via JHU’s Sheridan Libraries.