Films and TV programmes about feral children

FeralChildren.com says A neighbor reports a pale little girl, without clothes, hidden from the world. See what the police found when they entered her home. And, learn what happened to the biological mother who neglected this little girl for so many years. Then, find out what happens when a family opens their hearts and their home to this traumatized child. World-renowned child psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Perry joins Oprah to talk about some extreme cases of child neglect, and the story of 10-year-old Danielle, a child whose story shocked the country.

FeralChildren.com says A new production with contributions from Douglas Candland. "While stories of children being "raised by wolves" are exagerated, there have been a few documented cases of a child having grow up alone in the wild. Whether abandoned by parents or runaways from abusive households, these children often find reintegration into human society difficult. A common thread is their inability to learn language; having not been exposed to speech during a crucial time in their development, their brains have lost the ability to learn this most human of skills." Episode 26 Season 2 first broadcast 19 March 2007. A jungle boy raised by monkeys. Twin girls nurtured by wolves. Are these stories true? NGC takes a scientific look at the tales of feral children.

FeralChildren.com says An updated version of the Discovery Channel production Wild Child: The Story of Feral Children. The majority is repeated footage, but the story of Oxana Malaya is brought up to date with a visit and assessment by educational psychologist Lyn Fry.

FeralChildren.com says Les enfants loups appartiennent autant à la littérature qu'à notre passé. Comment des enfants sauvages pourraient-ils encore exister alors que les espaces vierges ont disparu ? Pourtant, il ne se passe pas une année sans qu'un "Mowgli" soit découvert. Les chiens ont le plus souvent remplacé les loups du récit, mais comme eux, ils adoptent et nourrissent des "petits d'hommes"…

FeralChildren.com says This German TV production features several feral children. The segment of the programme on feral children is about 15 minutes. Click on the link above to send email to enquire about purchase of the DVD. Click here for more information on Welt der Wunder - Wilde Kinder.

Von Urzeiten an bis in unsere Tage gibt es Berichte über Kinder, die von Wölfen, Hunden oder Affen aufgezogen wurden - und in der Wildnis überlebten. Schon in der Vergangenheit haben solche Wilden Kinder das Interesse von Forschern geweckt. Denn diese hofften, mit Hilfe der z.T. kuriosen tierischen Menschen herauszufinden, was uns allen ursprünglich in die Wiege gelegt worden ist. Und was wir uns erst später - beeinflusst durch unsere Umgebung - angeeignet haben.

FeralChildren.com says A daughter wordlessly waits on her father. Outside in the shed, someone or something watches her every move. When the local boys come to play nearby, a dark secret is uncovered. (A 16-minute film based on Seamus Heaney's peom Bye, Child.)

FeralChildren.com says This well-researched programme includes footage of Oxana, Edik and Genie.

FeralChildren.com says Starting from the age of three a little girl Oxana Malaya from the village of Novaya Blagoveschenka lived in a kennel with a mongrel dog. How does she live? What does she think about? Will she be able to become a full-grown member of the society? This what the first episode of Confrontation programme explores. (See also episode 63, the 2003 follow-up story.)

FeralChildren.com says A film based on the story of Genie.

FeralChildren.com says Blackboards is nothing to do with feral children (although it is an excellent film). But in the Making of… documentary which is also included in the DVD, Samira talks about the filming of The Apple, the film about The Naderi Twins. She explains how she got in contact with the family, how the children were at first taken away by the social services, how she filmed the attempted re-integration of the family (with the blind mother being particularly difficult, not understanding what the filming was for) and how the story ends with the children being adopted by a different family, who had seen the film. (Synopsis by Karl Catteeuw)

FeralChildren.com says In the words of Samira (taken from the Blackboards DVD), "As you see in the film, these two girls at the beginning of the film look like animals. They just make sounds the same as animals. We shot this in 11 days, and during this 11 days, they changed more than during those 11 years, just because of having contact with us."

FeralChildren.com says A BBC Horizon TV programme which, unfortunately, is no longer available on video for copyright reasons (says the BBC). This programme looks at the moral and ethical problems raised by the case of Genie.

"Documentary about Genie, who was discovered in California at the age of thirteen having spent her entire life tied to a potty in a back room of her parents house. She could not talk and was completely unsocialised. At the time, researchers helped her to learn to communicate using sounds and signs, and used her to prove their scientific theories. However, when the research funds ran out she was sent to live in an institution, where she still lives today."

FeralChildren.com says The legend of Jostedalsrypa. 93 minutes, 35 mm. Also known as Second Sight and Le Troisième Oeil. You can buy Trollsyn online from the Norwegian Film Institute web site.

FeralChildren.com says The story of Genie. A transcript is available here. You can purchase Secret of the Wild Child online from WGBH.

FeralChildren.com says A film that is more about Germany's exploration of its past than about Kaspar Hauser.

FeralChildren.com says When raised by animals, can children survive in civilisation? Host Leonard Nimoy examines several historical cases in this classic TV series that explores natural and supernatural mysteries. Please note that the price shown on the link above ("purchase this item") is wrong:
"Our standard home use price for a single episode of IN SEARCH OF is $29.95 plus shipping (and sales tax, if you're a California resident)"

FeralChildren.com says A mysterious foundling emerges from a dark cellar where he has spent his youth, and, as if fallen from another planet, has no concept of this world. Based on a true story, his captors and murderers remain unknown to this day.

FeralChildren.com says The screenplay is available in a book of the same title: Wild Child.

FeralChildren.com says This short film, Breien's directorial debut, was released in 1970 as Vokse opp, part 1 of Dager fra 1000 år. You can buy Dager fra 1000 år online from the Norwegian Film Institute web site.