David Farnor | On 18, Oct 2014

Leonardo DiCaprio, Netflix and gorillas will be together at last next month, as The Wolf of Wall Street’s star joins upcoming documentary Virunga.

The Netflix Original documentary, which was picked up by the streaming company in July, is part investigative journalism and part nature film. Directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, it follows an embattled team of rangers at Congo’s Virunga National Park, home to the last of the world’s 800 mountain gorillas. The team are caught in the crossfire of poachers, militia and industry.

The film debuted at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and earned a nomination for Best Documentary. Now, DiCaprio has teamed up with Netflix as well as production company Appian Way Productions to serve as an executive producer ahead of the movie’s release.

“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,” says DiCaprio. “Partnering with Netflix on this film is an exciting opportunity to inform and inspire individuals to engage on this topic.”

““Leo intuitively understands that there is nothing like the power of film to reach people’’s hearts and minds,”” adds Netflix Chief Content Officer 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.””

Virunga will be released on Netflix around the world on Friday 7th November, the same it is released in cinemas in New York and Los Angeles.

Here’s the trailer:

Photo courtesy of Netflix

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