Days before its world premiere in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, HBO has picked up all U.S. rights to "Project Nim," a documentary about a very special chimpanzee from Oscar-winning "Man on Wire" director James Marsh, the network announced on Tuesday.
The rights included in the deal include theatrical, video and TV broadcast.
The opening night film at this year's festival, "Project Nim" follows the life of a chimp who was raised like a human child as part of a groundbreaking experiment in the 1970s. The documentary combines archival footage and interviews with the experiment's participants to present a look at Nim Chimpsky's experience living in New York.
Oscar winner Simon Chinn produced "Project Nim," having previously worked with Marsh on "Man on Wire," which won a grand jury prize and an audience award at Sundance in 2008.
Submarine Entertainment's Josh Braun negotiated the deal with HBO Documentary Films and plans to shop the film for U.S. theatrical and DVD distribution at the festival.
Icon Entertainment International is handling worldwide rights.
HBO is an experienced documentary buyer at Sundance, having purchased Adrian Grenier's "Teenage Paparazzo" and Leon Gast's "Smash His Camera" at last year's festival.
