Secret Lives of Orangutans is now streaming on Netflix (premiered 22 August 2024)

From Silverback Films and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, Secret Lives of Orangutans is the world’s first feature length film about wild orangutans, revealing an intimate and never-before-seen perspective of one of our closest relatives.

Following the success of Our Planet, produced by Silverback Films, and Netflix’s most-watched natural history documentary series of all time, our new documentary picks up the story of two of the Sumatran orangutans from Our Planet Jungles six years later. In 2019, audiences were captivated by eighteen-year-old Ellie and her three-year-old daughter Eden and now we rejoin them as Eden embarks on the most challenging period of her life. 

Our documentary film shares an intimate look of Ellie with her new one-day-old baby boy, Emen. As Ellie focuses on her newborn, nine-year-old Eden must begin to navigate the jungle on her own using the skills she’s learned from her mother. We also introduce several other orangutans, including Eden’s cousin Pepito, who is also starting his journey to independence; Friska, Eden’s grandmother and the world’s oldest known wild orangutan; Suli the Unflanged, a determined yet subordinate male; Split Lip Otto, a once-dominant flanged male; Titan, the newly crowned flanged male; and Rakus, an orangutan who recently gained global attention as scientists observed him treating a battle wound with a medicinal plant (the first time a creature in the wild has been recorded doing this behaviour).

Keith Scholey, Executive Producer and Co-Director of Silverback Films, said, “Secret Lives of Orangutans reveals the remarkable similarities between us, humans, and orangutans as never before. I’ve been in the business for over 40 years and this film is truly unique in that it feels like you’re watching a human drama, rather than a wildlife documentary. There’s no other natural history film like it.”

Huw Cordey, Secret Lives of Orangutans Director, said, “We’re thrilled to give viewers this never-before-seen perspective of one of our closest relatives. Orangutans are famously difficult to film in the wild - rarely, if ever, coming to the ground - and the swamp forests of Suaq are one the world’s most difficult places to film. The use of drones allowed us to capture unprecedented footage and rare behaviours. It’s a privilege to be able to share these intimate stories with the world.”

The documentary was filmed over two years in the swamp forests of Suaq, northern Sumatra, an area renowned for its high orangutan population and their unique tool-using behaviour. This ancient forest is home to over two hundred identifiable orangutans, forming part of a thirty-year research project. Throughout the filming, the crew worked closely with scientists, local guides and park rangers from Gunung Leuser National Park.

 "gentle yet captivating viewing; a beautiful glimpse into a world we don’t often get to see”

- The Guardian
"Attenborough’s apes give EastEnders a run for its money"

- The Times
“..the immersive cinematography of Secret Lives of Orangutans will leave older audiences spellbound”

- New Scientist

Secret Lives of Orangutans is produced by Silverback Films, from Executive Producer Keith Scholey, Produced and Directed by Huw Cordey, with Production Manager Rebecca Coombs.