Award-winning Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio and Barry Jenkins have teamed up with Netflix for a feature film adaptation of the documentary Virunga.
Virunga tells the story of the battle to save The Congo’s endangered mountain gorillas. It will be produced by DiCaprio and Jenkins will write the screenplay.
The plot will feature the “fight to protect the world’s last mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The rights to the Oscar-nominated documentary were acquired by Netflix in 2014. The official synopsis of the documentary can be seen below:
In the forested depths of eastern Congo lies Virunga National Park, one of the most bio-diverse places on Earth and home to the planet’s last remaining mountain gorillas. In this wild, but enchanted environment, a small and embattled team of park rangers – including an ex-child soldier turned ranger, a caretaker of orphan gorillas and a dedicated 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, a new conflict threatens the lives and stability of everyone and everything they’ve worked so hard to protect, with the filmmakers and the film’s participants caught in the crossfire.
A powerful combination of investigative journalism and nature documentary, VIRUNGA is the incredible true story of a group of courageous people risking their lives to build a better future in a part of Africa the world’s forgotten, and a gripping exposé of the realities of life in the Congo.”
