Virunga

The deep green forests of eastern Congo make up the Virunga National Park, one of the most biodiverse regions on earth, and home to Africa’s last mountain gorillas. This UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site is a magnet for tourism, which helps to secure the habitat of both its natives and its fauna. However the past few years, poaching, oil companies and armed militias pose an ever-increasing threat to this paradise-like environment. This presents a huge challenge to a small group of rangers, who risk their lives preserving the park, and for the animal protectionists who raise orphaned gorilla babies. Director Orlando von Einsiedel captures in VIRUNGA the overwhelming beauty of nature and its living creatures, while simultaneously documenting its ruthless destruction by power-hungry stakeholders.