Mark Devries–the documentary filmmaker who specializes in exploring the realm of animals and animal welfare—expands on the final line (the fate of our kin is up to us) of his new film, “Humans and Other Animals.”
Laying out an eloquent and philosophical operating principle—which permeates his new film, as it did his debut doc, “Speciesism: The Movie,” —Devries notes that the number of animals dwarfs the tally of humans globally, hoping for a time where “non-human animals” will be taken more seriously, and treated much better.
He explains why a core section of “Humans and Other Animals” is devoted to investigating factory farming, an echo of a major exploration he undertook in the first doc—though, in the new flick he’s outfitted for this quest with high-tech equipment, including sophisticated drones, special hidden cameras, and robotic devices custom-created for Devries.
He discusses what he uncovered through these surveillance efforts, while acknowledging the low-key gumption of simply knocking on the doors of some of the operations resulted in an employee actually showing him factory records.
Observing that in “Humans and Other Animals,” he spoke with a vast array of notable figures–a big battalion of animal welfare leaders, scientists, authors, researchers, academics, and entrepreneurs—I inquire what things he learned from these conversations he found most surprising.
His answer (incidentally, I felt the same way) involved the research spotlighting the scientist and professor, Con Slobochikoff, who’s studied prairie dogs for 30-plus years at Northern Arizona University, discovering that these animals communicate in a complex language, complete with nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
We also discuss the passage in the new doc devoted to addressing corvids (crows, ravens, etc.) and the birds supreme intelligence, their acute problem-solving skills, and uncanny ability to remember human faces for years. We also see their winsome playfulness when, on a snowy day, a crow converts an object into a snowboard of sorts, taking multiple runs down the roof of a building.
“Humans and Other Animals” is now available to stream on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Google Play.
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