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FilmWeek

'Virunga' director shares how Oscar-nominated film evolved from a nature documentary

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY MARC JOURDIER 
An access to the Virunga National Park is seen near Rutshuru on June 17, 2014. People living in and around Africa's oldest wildlife reserve -- Virunga National Park -- threatened by armed groups and oil prospectors, are pinning their hopes on sustainable development projects for energy, agriculture and tourism. In the region around the park, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) north of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, villagers struggle to make ends meet. AFP PHOTO / JUNIOR D. KANNAH
An access to the Virunga National Park is seen near Rutshuru on June 17, 2014. People living in and around Africa's oldest wildlife reserve -- Virunga National Park -- threatened by armed groups and oil prospectors, are pinning their hopes on sustainable development projects for energy, agriculture and tourism.
(
JUNIOR D. KANNAH/AFP/Getty Images
)
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'Virunga' director shares how Oscar-nominated film evolved from a nature documentary

The original plan was to shoot a nature documentary in the Virunga National Park in the Eastern Congo, looking at the good progress that park officials had made in encouraging tourism and development in the area.

But the film that writer, director, and producer Orlando von Einsiedel ultimately created, was anything but your typical nature documentary.

“Virunga” writer, producer, and director Orlando von Einsiedel joins AirTalk to share the stories of the caretakers he met, the conflict he unearthed, and the majestic mountain gorillas that roam Virunga National Park.

Guest:

Orlando von Einsiedel, writer, director, and producer of the Oscar-nominated documentary “Virunga.”