![]() ![]() Interviews with Fossey’s research assistants and naturalists like David Attenborough raise questions that the documentary tries to answer.ĭon’t mistake me. Sigourney Weaver - whose 1988 portrayal of Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist launched the species’ plight onto an international stage - narrates the primatologist’s point of view. The first episode of the documentary opens with a recreation of the attack, while the third and final installment ends by trying to make sense of her murder. Yet Fossey’s passport, handguns, and several thousand dollars in cash and traveler’s checks had been left untouched, raising the suspicion of investigators. Her head was covered in blood her face split open by a machete. While the reenactment-heavy documentary doesn’t skimp on spotlighting Fossey’s discoveries, it’s driven by Fossey’s final (and brutal) encounter.įossey was found dead in her cabin at the Karisoke Research Center in the mountain rainforests of northern Rwanda, two days after Christmas in 1985. 6 on the National Geographic Channel, resembles an Unsolved Mysteries-style murder drama. “Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist,” which premiered Dec. (The pair was also featured on back-to-back covers of National Geographic Magazine this fall.)īut the contrasts between the two biopics, in their content and style, echo the stark difference in the two queens of primatology, how they approached conservation and the species they studied, and how we remember them today. This autumn, “ Jane the Movie” and “ Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist” showcase the pair’s brilliant contributions in an era when women scientists were marginalized by their male counterparts. Now, their inspiring lives are getting renewed attention in two new documentaries that not only document their achievements, but the complicated and contrasting paths they took to get there. These early excursions both drew the attention of Louis Leakey, a Kenyan paleoanthropologist who helped launch their long-term studies of primates. At a young age, both felt driven to explore the natural world, self-funding their initial trips to Africa. Both women ultimately dominated their fields, despite lacking formal scientific training in their early lives. They’re often mentioned together, given the similarities in their lives. Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall are household names for their groundbreaking research on apes. ![]()
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