Ming of Harlem is a film based on the extraordinary domestic circumstances of Ming and Al, a Siberian Tiger and Caiman Alligator respectively, who for several years shared a Harlem high-rise apartment with New Yorker Antoine Yates, until the discovery of their co-habitation in 2003 caused a public outcry.
The film will be a part documentary, part reconstructed view of the Harlem apartment and animals in situ, drawing on interview material with Antoine Yates, elaborated around the central image of a caged set construction, built with both cinematography and safety in mind. The dynamic staging of the film will thus develop a central role for the climate-controlled dwelling: of the apartment as protagonist.
The film progresses further into a series of voiced dialogues on the psychology, behaviour and unconscious of captive predatory animals – their displaced instincts and lost habitat – introducing philosophical questions and thoughts on animality, contributed by philosopher Peter Sloterdijk
Phillip Warnell