Not only is he a multi Oscar nominated actor but recently Leonardo DiCaprio has been working hard behind the scenes and his latest venture Virunga – which he is executive producing – will see him team up with streaming giants Netflix. Virunga is a feature documentary that tells the story of the ‘conflict between park rangers striving to protect endangered gorillas from poachers and industry encroaching on their habitats in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo’.
The documentary will simultaneously air on Netflix and in selected theatres on November 7th in Los Angeles and New York. Orlando Van Einsiedel will direct. His previous works have included The Cure: Doctors on Everest and We Ride: The Story of Snowboarding.
Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix has this to say about the DiCaprio and the partnership: “Leo intuitively understands that there is nothing like the power of film to reach people’s hearts and minds…With Virunga, we’ll work with Leo to introduce viewers around the world to an incredible, gripping story that will have audiences guessing right up until the final act.”
Early positive reviews of Virunga were calling it a “rousing, must-see work, filmed amid flying bullets and racist conspirators, provides a dramatic front-row seat to a struggle whose moral integrity proves no guarantee against the superior firepower of greed and corruption.” DiCaprio has long been an advocator in the education of environmental issues having founded the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation which places particular emphasis on the issues of global warming, alternative and renewable energy sources, and the preservation of the planet’s amazing biodiversity. He previously worked on the documentary 11th Hour and has actively supported a long list of global charities including The Gorilla Organisation. DiCaprio was very optimistic about the partnership:
“Films like Virunga are powerful stories that are a window into the incredible cultural and natural diversity of our world, the forces that are threatening to destroy it, and the people who are fighting to protect it…Partnering with Netflix on this film is an exciting opportunity to inform and inspire individuals to engage on this topic.”
It’s another coup for Netflix who recently announced a four film deal with Adam Sandler and their involvement with the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Gavin Logan – Follow me on Twitter
Originally published October 18, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
