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Virunga(film)

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Virunga
Promotional poster
Directed byOrlando von Einsiedel
Written byOrlando von Einsiedel
Produced by
CinematographyFranklin Dow
Edited by
  • Katie Bryer
  • Masahiro Hirakubo
  • Miikka Leskinen
  • Peta Ridley
Music byPatrick Jonsson
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
Running time
100 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • Congo
LanguagesEnglish
French

Virungais a 2014 Britishdocumentary filmdirected byOrlando von Einsiedel.It focuses on the conservation work of park rangers within theCongo'sVirunga National Parkduring the rise of the violentM23 Rebellionin 2012 and investigates the activity of the British oil companySoco Internationalwithin the UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.[1]Soco International ended up officially exploring oil opportunities in Virunga in April 2014.[2]The film premiered at theTribeca Film Festivalon 17 April 2014. After airing onNetflix,it was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Synopsis

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The documentary tells the story of four characters fighting to protectVirunga National Parkin theDemocratic Republic of Congo,home to the world's lastmountain gorillas,from war, poaching, and the threat of oil exploration. Following gorilla caregiver André Bauma, central sector wardenRodrigue Mugaruka Katembo,chief wardenEmmanuel de Merode,and the French investigative journalistMélanie Gouby,the film focuses on the natural beauty and biodiversity of Virunga, as well as the complex political and economic issues surrounding oil exploration and armed conflict in the region.

Production

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Production began in 2012, when von Einsiedel traveled to Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the intention of documenting the positive progress which had been made by the park authorities in encouraging tourism and development in the region. However, within three weeks of arriving in Virunga, conflict began with theM23 rebellionin April 2012,[3]shifting the focus of the film to cover the emerging conflict.

Von Einsiedel collaborated with park officials and French journalist Mélanie Gouby to investigate the role of the British oil company Soco International, which had been undertaking activities in the area.[4]Undercover filming showed Soco representatives offering bribes to park rangers.[5]

Soco International has strongly denied the allegations made in the documentary.[6]

Release

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Virungahad its world premiere at theTribeca Film Festivalin New York City on 17 April 2014. The premiere of the film came just two days after Virunga National Park's chief warden, Emmanuel de Merode, was shot by unidentified gunmen on the road from the city of Goma to the park's headquarters in Rumangabo.[7]De Merode survived the attack and the premiere ofVirungawent ahead afterwards.[8]

The film has been screened at multiple film festivals around the world, including Canadian festivalsHot Docsand DOXA;Docvillein Leuven, Belgium; in the U.S. atLittle Rock Film Festivalin Arkansas, Mountainfilm in Colorado,AFI Docsin Washington DC,Traverse City Film Festivalin Michigan. The UK premiere of the film was at theEdinburgh International Film Festivalon 24 June 2014.[9]

On 28 July 2014, it was announced thatNetflixhad picked up exclusive rights to the film.[10]The documentary was released onto the service on 7 November the same year.[11]On June 23, 2020, it was announced thatBarry Jenkinswould write the feature film adaptation ofVirunga,and thatLeonardo DiCapriowould produce it.[12]

Reception

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Critical reception

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Joanna Natasegara and Orlando von Einsiedel at the 74th Annual Peabody Awards

Virungahas received universal acclaim by critics. OnRotten Tomatoes,the film has a100% ratingbased on 21 reviews with anaverage ratingof 9.09/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Virungaoffers a heart-rending glimpse of natural wonders vulnerable to the atrocities of greed -- and the people devoting their lives to defending them ".[13]Metacritic,anotherreview aggregator,assigned the film a weighted average score of 95 out of 100 based on 5 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "universal acclaim". It is currently one of the site's highest-rated films.[14]

Jeannette Catsoulis, writing forThe New York Times,called the film "extraordinary",[15]whilstLos Angeles Timesfilm critic Sheri Linden described Virunga as an "urgent investigative report and unforgettable drama... a work of heart-wrenching tenderness and heart-stopping suspense".[16]Ronnie Scheib wrote forVarietythatVirungawas an "extraordinary documentary" with "enough action, pathos, suspense, venal villains, stalwart heroes and endangered gorillas for a dozen fiction films".[17]Tom Roston wrote for PBS's POV blog that "Virunga is the best documentary I've seen this year."[18]

Awards

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Virungahas won several awards including thePeabody Award;[19]the Feature Documentary Award at DOXA Documentary Festival in Vancouver, Canada; the Award of International Emerging Filmmaker at Hot Docs in Toronto; the Golden Rock Documentary Award at Little Rock Film Festival; and the Action and Change Together (ACT Now) Award at theCrested Butte Film Festival.It won two gongs at the One World Media Awards at BAFTA - Best Documentary, and the Corruption Reporting award. The film was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature at Tribeca Film Festival. The film was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Featurefor the87th Academy Awards.[20][21]

Impact

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The allegations brought against Soco International by the documentary, and supported by local NGOs and civil society organizations working in and around Virunga National park, put increased pressure on the company to put an end to its exploration for oil within the protected World Heritage Site.[22]

On 11 June 2014, Soco International and theWWFannounced a joint statement in which the oil company committed "not to undertake or commission any exploratory or other drilling within Virunga National Park unless UNESCO and the DRC government agree that such activities are not incompatible with its World Heritage status".[23]This was widely cited as a victory for WWF, which had long been campaigning for Soco to leave the region, and credit was also given to the filmmakers. However, strong concerns about the credibility of this agreement were raised by the filmmakers,[24]alongside other NGOs such asGlobal Witness,[25]Human Rights Watch,[26]and local civil society organizations.[27]

World Wildlife Fund executives now acknowledge that the battle over Virunga is hardly over. Soco has yet to relinquish its operating permits or commit to an unconditional withdrawal. "They're leaving the door open," said Zach Abraham, director of the World Wildlife Fund's global campaigns.[28]

On 13 March 2015, BBC reported that the Democratic Republic of Congo says it could potentially redraw the boundaries of Virunga National Park, to allow for oil exploration.[29]

On 4 November 2015, Soco said it no longer held a stake in the exploration license for the DRC national park.[30]

References

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  1. ^"Virunga National Park".World Heritage List.UNESCO.Retrieved20 August2014.
  2. ^Reuters Staff (23 April 2014)."Oil firm Soco to begin seismic testing in Congo's Virunga park".Reuters.Thomson Reuters.Retrieved20 August2014.{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help)
  3. ^"About".Virunga official website.Retrieved20 August2014.
  4. ^Fuchs, Ellise (11 July 2014)."'A Constantly Driving Feeling': Interview with Orlando von Einsiedel ".PopMatters.Retrieved20 August2014.
  5. ^Rosen, Jon (29 April 2014)."Confronting Threats to Virunga, Africa's Oldest Park".National Geographic.Archived fromthe originalon 3 May 2014.Retrieved20 August2014.
  6. ^"SOCO comments on unfounded allegations in film and re-emphasises commitment to helping local communities".SOCO International.18 April 2014.Retrieved20 August2014.
  7. ^"Belgian Emmanuel de Merode shot in DR Congo ambush".BBC News.BBC.16 April 2014.Retrieved20 August2014.
  8. ^Virunga Documentary Honours Defenders Of Few Living Mountain Gorillas — Samaritanmag.com
  9. ^"Past Screenings".Virunga official website.Retrieved20 August2014.
  10. ^Steel, Emily (28 July 2014)."Netflix Bolsters Offerings in Documentary Genre".The New York Times.Retrieved20 August2014.
  11. ^Sinha-Roy, Pifa (6 November 2014)."Netflix's 'Virunga' uncovers Congo's fight to protect resources".Reuters.Thomson Reuters.Retrieved8 November2014.
  12. ^N'Duka, Amanda (23 June 2020)."Oscar Winner Barry Jenkins Teams With Leonardo DiCaprio & Netflix On Film Adaptation Of 'Virunga' Documentary".Deadline.Retrieved24 July2020.
  13. ^"Virunga (2014)".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango Media.Retrieved1 July2019.
  14. ^"Virunga Reviews".Metacritic.CBS Interactive.Retrieved8 November2014.
  15. ^Catsoulis, Jeannette (6 November 2014)."Gorillas in the Midst of a Battle Over Oil".The New York Times.Retrieved11 November2014.
  16. ^Linden, Sheri (6 November 2014)."'Virunga' captures drama of African rangers guarding gorillas ".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved11 November2014.
  17. ^Scheib, Ronnie (1 June 2014)."Film Review: 'Virunga'".Variety.Retrieved2 August2014.
  18. ^Roston, Tom (4 May 2014)."Top 5 Films from Hot Docs 2014".POV's Documentary Blog.American Documentary.Archived fromthe originalon 9 September 2014.Retrieved20 August2014.
  19. ^"Virunga (Netflix)".Peabody Awards.Retrieved9 October2015.
  20. ^Labrecque, Jeff (15 January 2015)."Oscars 2015: Full List of Nomiations".Entertainment Weekly.Retrieved15 January2015.
  21. ^2015|Oscars.org
  22. ^Holt, Kate (18 April 2014)."WWF calls on Soco to explain Virunga allegations in new film".World Wildlife Fund.Retrieved20 August2014.
  23. ^"SOCO and WWF agree way forward on future activity in Virunga National Park (DRC)".Soco International.11 June 2014.Retrieved20 August2014.
  24. ^Producers of Virunga (11 June 2014)."Soco International's Latest Move in Virunga National Park Leaves More Questions than it Answers".Virunga official website.Retrieved20 August2014.
  25. ^Balint-Kurti, Daniel; Dyer, Nathaniel (13 June 2014)."British oil company's back-tracking on World Heritage Site looks like a ruse".Global Witness.Archived fromthe originalon 1 October 2014.Retrieved20 August2014.
  26. ^Sawyer, Ida (11 June 2014)."Dispatches: Congo's Virunga Park Rangers, Activists Still Need Justice".Human Rights Watch.Retrieved3 July2018.
  27. ^"Congo Civil Society Express Concerns About SOCO's Deal With WWF on Virunga Oil Exploration".African Conservation Foundation.12 June 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2014.Retrieved20 August2014.
  28. ^Gettleman, Jeffrey (15 November 2014)."Oil Dispute Takes a Page From Congo's Bloody Past".The New York Times.Retrieved18 November2014.
  29. ^"DR Congo seeks Virunga park boundary change".BBC News.BBC.13 March 2015.Retrieved13 March2015.
  30. ^Graeber, Daniel J. (4 November 2015)."SOCO gives up oil license in proteced [sic] DRC park ".United Press International.Retrieved28 November2015.
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