Virunga

Virunga (2014) is a documentary directed by Orlando von Einsiedel — watch online on iFILM. Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa's oldest park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the last place on earth where mountain gorillas still survive in the wild. It is also, at this moment, surrounded by armed militias, caught in active conflict, and targeted by an oil company looking to drill inside its borders.

The film follows the people holding the line: ranger Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo, forest warden André Bauma who hand-raised orphaned gorillas, journalist Mélanie Gouby feeding evidence to the camera at personal risk, and park director Emmanuel de Merode recovering from a shooting during the shoot itself. Von Einsiedel embeds close enough that the danger feels immediate rather than distant.

Produced with Netflix support, Virunga picked up an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Stream it online on iFILM — one of those films where the facts on screen are more alarming than anything a screenwriter would invent.