In 1977, director Barbet Schroeder and cinematographer Nestor Almendros created the captivating documentary Koko: A Talking Gorilla. The film introduces US to the remarkable Koko at the age of three, recently 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 sign language. An entertaining, troubling, and still relevant documentary, Koko: A Talking Gorilla sheds light on the ongoing ethical and philosophical debates on the individual rights of animals and brings US face to face with the amazing "individual" caught in the middle.