NEW DELHI: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and his Appian Way Productions shingle have partnered with Netflix for the release of Virunga, a documentary about endangered gorillas on the Congo that the digital network acquired exclusive subscription-video rights to in July.
 
DiCaprio will serve as an executive producer on the film, which is slated for release on 7 November in theatres in New York and Los Angeles and in all territories where Netflix is available.
 
In a review earlier this year at Tribeca, the Variety magazine called 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.”
 
“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,” said DiCaprio, who is himself an environmental activist.
 
“Partnering with Netflix on this film is an exciting opportunity to inform and inspire individuals to engage on this topic,” he added.
 
Directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, the film follows an embattled team of park rangers and the endangered mountain gorillas they protect as they are caught in the crossfire of poachers, militia and industry in Africa’s oldest national park.  
 
“Leo intuitively understands that there is nothing like the power of film to reach people’s hearts and minds,” said Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos.
 
“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.”