If they grace the festival with their presence, it would be like having the Beatles show up (Frederick Wiseman is our Elvis). Legendary docu-team Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker haven’t presented a doc film at the fest since 1987’s Jimi Plays Monterey (UPDATE: they actually showed up in back-to-back years with Startup.com (2001) and Only the Strong Survive) and the pair have participated as jurors/panelists as well. Their new project, which received some coin via the 2013 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, is a hot topic issue/last frontier, that may be aligned with Sundance’s unwritten mandate for docu films that push social boundaries.
Gist: Renowned animal rights attorney Steven Wise wants to break through the legal wall that separates animals and humans. His lawsuit, the first of its kind, will demand the most basic of personhood rights – those of bodily integrity and liberty – for an animal of a species that has been proven to have advanced cognitive capabilities, transforming the status of the animal from that of a mere “thing” to a “person” possessing rights that protect him from abuse and captivity.
Production Co./Producers: Rosadel Varela (Control Room), Frazer Pennebaker.
Prediction: If this does get a 2014 release, it could pick up a Doc Premieres showing or wait until Tribeca or TIFF for a premiere.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
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