The Real Beauty and the Beast

Producer:

Dieter Pochlatko

IN PRODUCTION

A Universum documentary
HD 50 min.
Participating television broadcasters: ORF, ARTE, Smithsonian

Since his birth in 1556 Petrus Gonsalvus suffered from a rare disease nowadays known as hypertrichosis or Ambras Syndrome. He was as hairy as a wild animal and many people believed he was an ape that could talk. He was soon presented as a gift to French King Henry II and grew up in the splendid surroundings of the Fontainebleau Palace, allegedly the devil’s creation in the king’s bestiary.

Shortly after his arrival the young man began to speak, read and write, thereby gaining the respect of the court society. As an experiment the royal family chose him a wife.

The moving fate of this couple renders one of the most powerful stories written: love’s triumph over prejudice and cruelty.