Project Nim (2011)
Overview · Where to watch · Cast & crew · Reviews
The world will be a different place once you've seen it through his eyes.
From the team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child. Following Nim's extraordinary journey through human society, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way, the film is an unflinching and unsentimental biography of an animal we tried to make human. What we learn about his true nature - and indeed our own - is comic, revealing and profoundly unsettling.
- Released: 2011-07-08
- Genres: Documentary
- Runtime: 1h 33m
- Status: Released
- TMDB rating: 6.9/10 from 146 votes
Directed by James Marsh.
Top cast
- Bob Angelini as Lab Tech
- Bern Cohen as Dr. William Lemmon
- Reagan Leonard as Stephanie LaFarge
- Nim Chimpsky as Self (archive footage)
- Stephanie LaFarge as Self
- Herbert Terrace as Self
- Wer LaFarge as Self (archive footage)
- Jenny Lee as Self
- Laura-Ann Petitto as Self
- Bill Tynan as Self
Where to watch Project Nim
- United States: watch free on Kanopy; rent on Google Play Movies, YouTube; buy on Google Play Movies, YouTube
- United Kingdom: stream on Amazon Prime Video, Icon Film Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads; watch free on Rakuten TV, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Plex, Amazon MX Player; rent on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Sky Store; buy on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Sky Store, YouTube
- Canada: buy on YouTube
- Australia: stream on DocPlay, DocPlay Amazon Channel; rent on Apple TV Store, YouTube; buy on Apple TV Store, YouTube
Movies like Project Nim
If you enjoyed Project Nim, these movies have a similar feel:
- Ghost Elephants (2026)
- Sidney (2022)
- John Candy: I Like Me (2025)
- Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
- The Last Waltz (1978)
- The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006)
- My Mom Jayne (2025)
- 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)
- Shark Whisperer (2025)
- Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018)
- The Last Repair Shop (2024)
- Heart of a Dog (2015)
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