Koko: A Talking Gorilla | |
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DVD cover art
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Directed by | Barbet Schroeder |
Produced by |
Margaret Ménégoz Dale Djerassi Barbet Schroeder |
Starring |
Koko Francine Patterson |
Cinematography | Néstor Almendros |
Edited by |
Denise De Casabianca Dominique Auvray |
Distributed by |
Les Films du Losange The Criterion Collection |
Release date
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October 1978 |
Running time
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80 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | English French |
Koko: A Talking Gorilla (French: Koko, le gorille qui parle) is a 1978 documentary directed by Barbet Schroeder that focuses on Dr. Francine 'Penny' Patterson and her work with Koko, the gorilla Patterson claims to have taught to communicate with humans using symbols taken from American Sign Language. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival.
The film introduces us to Koko soon after she was brought from the San Francisco Zoo to Stanford University by Dr. Penny Patterson for a controversial experiment—she would be taught the basics of human communication through American Sign Language.