Story | 17 Apr, 2014

Virunga documentary premieres in New York

Virunga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest and richest national park. A feature length documentary film about the beauty and the struggles of Virunga National Park had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 17th.

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Photo: Virunga The Movie

Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a contested ground among insurgencies seeking to topple the government that see untold profits in the land. Among this ongoing power struggle, Virunga also happens to be the last natural habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorilla.

The only thing standing in the way of the forces closing in around the gorillas: a handful of passionate park rangers and journalists fighting to secure the park’s borders and expose the corruption of its enemies. These brave individuals risk their lives to save the park, which became ever so clear when the park's director, Emmanuel de Mérode, was shot in an ambush on Tuesday.

Filled with shocking footage, and anchored by the surprisingly deep and gentle characters of the gorillas themselves, Virunga is a galvanizing call to action around an ongoing political and environmental crisis in the Congo.

Virunga - Official Trailer 2014 from Grain Media on Vimeo.