Virunga receives an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary

The Oscar Academy revealed its nominations today for the 2015 Academy Awards and very excitingly Virunga was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary category. The other nominees are CitizenFour, Finding Vivian Maier, Last Days of Vietnam and The Salt of the Earth.

The documentary is directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, produced by Joanna Natasegara and includes Leonardo DiCaprio among its executive producers. It is distributed internationally by Netflix.

VIRUNGA: SYNOPSIS

In the forested depths of eastern Congo lies Virunga National Park, one of the most bio-diverse places in the world and home to the last of the mountain gorillas. In this wild, but enchanted environment, a small and embattled team of park rangers – including an ex-child soldier turned ranger, a carer of orphan gorillas and a Belgian conservationist – protect this UNESCO world heritage site from armed militia, poachers and the dark forces struggling to control Congo’s rich natural resources. When the newly formed M23 rebel group declares war in May 2012, a new conflict threatens the lives and stability of everyone and everything they’ve worked so hard to protect. — IMDb

The Oscar gala is held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on the 22nd of February 2015.