Filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel discusses the reasons he decided to make the documentary Virunga, which highlights efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park to save the dwindling gorilla population.
The area around the park is under threat from groups trying to capitalize on oil discovered there, threatening the habitat of mountain gorillas. “That story shocked me and spoke to me as a very different story coming out of Congo, so I went over and tried to tell that story,” Orlando said about the movie, which is on the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary.
He said he had only been in the area a couple of weeks when conflict broke out over an oil company illegally exploring for oil. “Suddenly, what I thought I was making a film about made this U-turn and became about something very different, and a lot bigger and a lot scarier.”
The gorilla population has primarily become devastated by deforestation through farming and decades of war and conflict, creating a “cycle of violence.” “What we realized with Virunga, fairly early on, was that we were witnessing that process play out on a micro scale – and in this case it was a British oil company illegally exploring for oil.”
Despite a large number of armed men operating in and around the park, officials are currently trying to improve economic conditions in the area to create jobs in the tourism and hydro power industries to give individuals viable employment alternatives.
“There’s about 15,000 armed men operating in the region. And the park’s plan over the next 10-15 years is to try and create 100,000 jobs, and you can see how quickly that can play a massive role in stopping the fighting, because people join these armed groups because there aren’t any other job opportunities.”
Watch the full episode for preview clips from the documentary and to meet some of the amazing people driving local efforts to protect gorillas in the area.
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