THE MAN OF THE MONKEY

Intrigued by the tale of a strange man living in isolation with a chimpanzee, filmmaker David Romberg travels to his childhood home in Ilha Grande, Brazil to find him, only to discover that the tale pales in comparison to what he uncovers. Set on a remote jungle island, “The Man of the Monkey”, unravels a labyrinth of interconnected uncanny characters, all seeking refuge. Amongst them, an exiled Argentine Jewish artist haunted by phantoms of the past, a former prisoner with nowhere to go, and a suspected Nazi living in isolation with a monkey. Moving between personal and collective histories about political turmoil and displacement, the film illuminates the intricacies and contradictions by which trauma defines our identities in the never-ending search for a home. The film has gone through the following programs/funds: Heineken VOCES Grant TFI Latin America Fund IFP Documentary Filmmaker Lab TFI/A+E INDIEFILMS STORYLAB