Columbus Freepress - November 7th 2013 Nov 7 2013 | Page 32

Bonobo film kicks off
Columbus film festival
By Susan Halpern

The 61st Columbus International Film &

Video Festival opens tonight (November
7) with a French film shot in the Congo
at the Gateway Film Center, at 1550
North High Street Columbus, Ohio, with
a reception at 7 pm and film at 8:00 pm.
Admission to both the reception and film
is just $5. This screening is one night only
and it is the Midwest premiere of the film.

“NOW MORE THAN EVER”

The film follows the story of an orphan
bonobo, rescued by Claudine André, a
conservationist who has dedicated her
life to bonobos, our closest primate
cousins. The event is co-sponsored by
the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, who
are bringing some animal friends to the
opening reception. A percentage of ticket
sales will be donated to Lola ya Bonobo
(Bonobo Paradise), the bonobo sanctuary
featured in the film.
In addition, Congolese biologist Suzy
Kwetuenda (who appears in the film) will
be on hand to present the film and talk
about Lola ya Bonobo and the bonobos
featured in the film. The documentary
was created to raise awareness for our
endangered primate cousins. Bonobos
(pronounced “buh-NO-bos”) are often
confused with chimpanzees, and until
1933 they were not considered a different
species. With a 98 percent match to
human genetics, the bonobos are truly
our closest relatives in the animal world.
Some scientists suggest that the bonobo
is so closely related to humans that their
genus name also should be classified with
the human genus Homo: Homo paniscus,
32 Homo sylvestris, or Homo arboreus.

Y know that noise
ou
your heart makes
when you work out?

Bonobos are infamous for their
sexuality, rivaling that of humans, but that
behavior is only slyly hinted at in the film.
“It is a mainstream movie, so we cut out
the sex scenes,” says André, the human
star of Beny: Back To The Wild. Bonobo
society is matriarchal and surprisingly
gentle, unlike chimpanzee societies.
Conflicts are resolved peaceably, and
strangers are generally accepted into the
tribe. Bonobos have been referred to as
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