Virunga

Virunga National Park in the Congo is a place of unique natural beauty. It is the home to a plethora of wonderful animals and vegetation but as is so often the way, it has several serious problems that threaten it. It's the location of human violence, corruption and exploitation. The disasters that specifically loom are two different groups, the M23 and SOCO International. The former are a violent rebel force who engages in an ongoing civil war with the Congolese government and the latter are a British energy company who specialise in oil exploration. Both M23 and SOCO invade the park in their own ways and neither seems very interested in the laws that have been set up to protect the flora and fauna that exist there, far less the people who live there. It seems hardly surprising in the case of M23, as they are a paramilitary organisation who can hardly be expected to be concerned with such things but it is the more legitimate big business SOCO who seem more worrying if anything. We discover in fact that they have been involved in a bribery campaign, utilising M23 as enforcers. It's a very murky situation where big money walks all over an impoverished nation and disregards a natural space that they can see no value in in their pursuit of financial profit.

The symbol of the park in many ways is the mountain gorillas. Virunga is the last place on earth where they live freely in the wild and they are a protected species. This, of course, doesn't stop poachers killing parent apes and forcibly kidnapping the young for sale. Nor does it stop enemies of the park from simply killing these magnificent animals in an attempt to destroy the very thing that they see the park being protected for, in an attempt to make Virunga a place devoid of a reason to be protected in the first place. It's a horribly cynical situation. The documentary often almost plays out like a movie in its drama. We often hear about people working hard to save the environment but in Virunga we witness people literally putting their lives on the line fighting for this issue. This is the front line for environmentalists, a bloody warzone where it's pretty obvious who the good guys are. Over the course of the last fifteen years, 130 park rangers have been killed protecting Virunga. It's not far off one death a month and it shows the extreme dedication of these brave folks.

The film focuses chiefly on four such brave souls. There is Emmanuel de Merode, a Belgian warden who runs the park and dedicates himself to its protection. He was shot by gunmen two days after handing in a dossier of evidence against SOCO. Thankfully he survived and went straight back to work. We also have Rodrigue, one of Emmanuel's park rangers, who puts himself in the firing line on a daily basis. He also goes undercover for the film in order to expose bribery tactics. Likewise, Melanie, a French freelance journalist, also goes undercover to expose the views of the SOCO people involved in the enterprise. And lastly there is Andre, the guardian of four young gorillas, orphaned by the poachers. His dedication to the animals is touching and he is, to all intents and purposes, their parent. He links us back into the gorillas and the very essence of Virunga itself.

This is a very strong documentary about an issue that is not so well known. It avoids preachiness and simply shows us things. Director Orlando von Einsiedel has to be given a lot of credit for how he handles the material and presents it in an engaging way, while making a very serious point. Unsurprisingly, there is much gritty, on-the-fly footage but it is also combined with beautifully composed images of the park. The cinematography at times is actually quite stunning. It makes sense to have adopted this approach, as this is a film that is about grim exploitation but also one about something very beautiful too.

"Consider this: Only 880 Mountain Gorillas Remain in the World."

Orlando von Einsiedel, a former professional snowboarder, began making short documentaries in 2010 skating through the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan. He then continued working in Africa directing several shorts across the continent, and that is when a photograph of a group of rangers at Virunga National Park caught his attention. The story was far too compelling for a short, so he decided to direct his first feature documentary centering on the current situation in Congo. The Park rangers are completely committed to protecting the wild life where the world's remaining Mountain Gorillas live, but as in most of the African continent the unstable government situation has made their survival difficult. With rebel groups trying to fund their armies, the rich minerals present in the park are their means to it. But these dangerous rebel groups aren't the only enemy that the rangers face. SOCO, a British gas company, was given permission by the Congolese government to explore the territory for oil reserves. The contradiction is that Virunga is a protected park due to the endangered species living their. Through a series of interesting investigative work, a reporter named Melanie Gouby manages to befriend SOCO employees and discovers a link between them and the rebel groups. She also exposes the corruption behind some of the officials. What results is a fascinating documentary that gets more and more exciting as the story develops.

What Virunga does best is combine astonishing shots of the beautiful landscape of the park with the chaos that the country has been experiencing due to the rebel groups and corrupt government officials. The innocence of the baby gorillas playing with some of the rangers who are willing to sacrifice their lives for these animals is juxtaposed with the racial and distasteful comments of some of the employees trying to exploit the park. If this were a feature film, I'd say the villains were stereotypically played because their comments and actions are simply cringeworthy. But this is the real deal and it is a shame that these people think this way. Our lack of humanity is brilliantly portrayed and it easily contradicts the beauty of the park. While rebel groups create chaos and shoot innocent kids, gorilla caretakers like André Bauma are willing to risk their lives for the gorillas. In a touching scene he says "You must justify why you are on this Earth. Gorillas justify why I am here. They are my life." This takes place as the rebel groups close in on the park spreading fear through gunshots and explosions. So we get both sides of humanity in this touching documentary and that contradiction is what makes this such an exciting and upsetting film at the same time.

Being in the line of fire probably wasn't easy for von Einsiedel, but his bravery pays off because he has managed to direct a fascinating documentary which received a nomination at this year's Academy Awards. The way he allows his camera to capture the beauty of the park reminds us of what a great tourist attraction this place could be if it weren't for the danger that lurks in the area. The reason it hasn't become one of the world's main attractions is because of the constant war and instability of the region, but if there could be some way of reaching peace I'm sure their could be much more wealth found in tourism than in the minerals everyone's trying to exploit there. Virunga reminded me a lot of the universal theme found in films like Avatar dealing with corporate greed and corruption versus the beauty of nature and how our greed is destroying it. Virunga is a compelling watch and a documentary you won't regret experiencing.

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I saw this movie at the Docville festival in Leuven, Belgium. This a film festival with just documentaries. I had to choose between several movies and I'll never going to regret one second the choice I've made. I saw the mountain gorillas myself at Bwindi in Uganda so maybe my reaction is a little bit biased... The film is more than just a film about those magnificent animals. It's about how "we" cope with our resources but even more importantly how other people (e.g. the rangers) even give their lives to protect this. I wept during the film out of frustration but also out of an enormous respect for the film makers, rangers and everyone involved. I've had the chance to speak with Orlando von Einsiedel afterwards and it's one of the conversations that will stay with me forever. It's one of those movies that should be compulsory at school education, ... and a movie everyone should have in their collection!

The documentary does a great job of telling the various stories and building up suspense while showing us the beauty of the country.

The only historical "inaccuracy" was that they didn't flat out say that King Leopold of Belgium literally committed genocide in the Free Congo State by killing 10-30 million people for his own personal financial gains. It was in fact the first genocide of the 20th century. I wouldn't say it was corporations, King of Belgium is a government not a corporation.

Other than that everything about the movie was great. It had great emotions and the characters showed a lot of character.

The absurdity of the corporations attempt to try to get oil by damaging environmental or animal conservation efforts is ridiculous. They can just as easily provide for the animals and their habitat and it would not cost much.

Virunga is a stunning film, part nature documentary, and part gritty exposé of the realities of life on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has been torn apart by conflict for thirty years.

Director Orlando von Einsiedel does an incredible job at telling a complex story - documenting the beauty and remarkable vitality of Virunga National Park, alongside a developing story of corruption and greed, as it is revealed that a British oil company, Soco International, has been exploring for oil with the park's boundaries.

The film features remarkable characters, from the gentle and fatherly gorilla carer Andre Bauma, through to the fearless French journalist Melanie Gouby, alongside the remarkable rangers who put their lives on to protect Congo's natural heritage.

To make this film even more engaging, the issues at its heart are still very much relevant, and even though oil company Soco agreed in June 2014 to halt exploration the park, the fight is still not over. I urge you to watch this film, and educate yourself on its surrounding campaign. This is not a story which should be forgotten.