Leonardo DiCaprio, Netflix team up on endangered gorilla documentary
Netflix is partnering with Leonardo DiCaprio to bring the plight of mountain gorillas in the eastern Congo to the masses, CNN reports.
DiCaprio is executive producer on a documentary entitled VIRUNGA, described on its website as a film about how "a small and embattled team of park rangers…protect (Virunga National Park) from armed militia, poachers, and the dark forces struggling to control Congo's rich natural resources."
The World Wildlife Fund reports that there are fewer than 800 mountain gorillas left in the wild, and about half that number reside in the Virunga Mountains. Unlike original series Netflix has released, the company is instead backing the film as it premieres in New York and Los Angeles theaters, in tandem with a Netflix site release on November 7.
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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.