Leonardo DiCaprio joins Virunga as an Executive Producer
Leonardo DiCaprio joins Virunga as an Executive Producer!
Leonardo DiCaprio and his Appian Way Productions have partnered with Netflix on the release of “Virunga”. The feature documentary is directed by Orlando von Einsiedel from Grain Media and produced by Joanna Natasegara.
Set in a civil war torn Democratic Republic of Congo, the documentary follows the park’s director, a gorilla caretaker, a park ranger and an undercover journalist, who battle to save the park and its gorillas against the encroachment of rebel militia and oil-hungry Western players.
Netflix acquired exclusive subscription-video rights to Virunga in July. Leonardo DiCaprio joins Virunga to serve as an executive producer on the film, which is slated for release on November 7 in theaters in New York and Los Angeles and on Netflix in all territories where Netflix is available.
Virunga is proving to be a big hit with the critics and audiences alike. Currently the film has an IMDb score of 8.7. Here are a few of the reviews that followed on from the film’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere:
Variety: “With enough action, pathos, suspense, venal villains, stalwart heroes and endangered gorillas for a dozen fiction films […] extraordinary.”
Hollywood Reporter: “Powerful.”
Indiewire: “Stirring.”
SYNOPSIS:
The documentary tells the story of four characters fighting to protect Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the world’s last mountain gorillas, against war, poaching, and the threat of oil exploration. Following gorilla carer André Bauma, head park ranger Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo, chief warden Emmanuel de Merode, and the French investigative journalist, Mélanie Gouby, the film focuses on the natural beauty and biodiversity of Virunga, as well as the complex political and economic issues surrounding oil exploration and armed conflict in the region.
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