Available now on VOD
COBBY:
The Other Side of Cute
Available Now in
Australia, NZ, USA, UK & Canada via
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Beamafilm (AU)
Academy on Demand (NZ)
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Running Time: 85 minutes
Rating: PG
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Directed by: Donna McRae & Michael Vale
Written by: Donna McRae,
Michael Vale, Uri Mizrahi
Camera: Michael Vale
Editor: Uri Mizrahi
Composers: George Papanicolaou
and David Weaver
Producer: Donna McRae
A fascinating Australian documentary, COBBY explores the 1960’s
children's TV program Cobby's Hobbies, a little known 4 minute
program of over 100 episodes made in Kansas City, featuring ‘show
biz’ chimpanzee Cobby, who became the catalyst for the film.
In an attempt to revisit childhood memories, Director Donna McRae,
and her partner & co-director Michael Vale, travel to San Francisco in
search of the real life Cobby. There they Interviewed people that
made the show, zoo friends, zoo keepers and animal rights activists
that piece together a story of an animal that was stolen from his
natural habitat to work on TV before being retired into the San
Francisco zoo at age 7.
While Cobby’s life has been relatively fortunate, the filmmakers were
faced with the alarming gradual gaining of awareness - the truths
behind the world of ‘cuteness’ and animals trained to work in TV
shows, commercials and in circus. The film also explores the
changing attitudes to the treatment of animals in entertainment over
the last fifty years.
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FESTIVALS:
San Francisco Docfest 2018
Kansas International Film Festival 2018
Revelation International Film festival 2019
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BONUS CONTENT
See the only episode of COBBIES HOBBIES
thought to have survived!
WATCH BELOW!