Documentary filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel is the man behind the camera of Virunga, telling the story of the titular Congolese national park and its rangers’ fight to protect it from illegal oil exploitation.

Orlando von Einsiedel On ‘Virunga’

As Einsiedel describes it, Virunga is a natural wonder, home to both volcanoes and glaciers, as well as magnificent mountain gorillas. At the time Einsiedel was learning about the park, Virunga had initiatives to build tourism, promote hydropower and to create jobs. It provided a sliver of optimism in a country that was in the midst of weathering a 20-year civil war. Soon enough, Einsiedel learned that Virunga was fighting a war of its own.

“Emmanuel and the rangers, it’s really a David and Goliath battle. Here you have a group of very dedicated rangers, risking their lives up against very, very powerful forces in a rebel army and a billion dollar oil company, one of Britain’s biggest companies,” Einsidel told uInterview exclusively, speaking of Secor International. “So the rangers are very outgunned, but yet they are some of the bravest people I’ve ever met. I think there is real hope and optimism that ultimately they’ll triumph.”

While working on Virunga, Einsiedel was forced to put himself in exceptionally dangerous situations alongside the rangers he admired, suppressing his very rational fears about his own safety. The risks for the filmmaker proved to be worth it, as he and his team collected ample material for the documentary.

“There were a lot of different people out there, filming undercover, documenting evidence about Secor International’s agents and contractors and supporters. There were a lot of moments when we started to review the footage, and we were like, ‘I cannot believe this person is saying this,’” Einsiedel revealed. “Some of the stuff that comes out of these guys mouths — it’s like you couldn’t write it in a movie. It’s so on the nose it would almost be cheesy.”

For Einsiedel, there’s a larger message he wants to get across in Virunga than just the need to protect the national park. He wants those who watch his documentary to understand the threat that illegal business interests can have on things that should, theoretically, be off-limits and out of bounds.

“Protecting Virunga isn’t just about protecting the last of the world’s mountain gorillas or parts of Eastern Congo, which really holds the key to driving forward stability for the entire region,” Einsiedel told uInterview. “Virunga is a UNESCO world heritage site and these are parts of our planet that humanity has decided are so important, that we shouldn’t be exploring for oil or gas or mining for coal in these very important parts of our world. So if Virunga, Africa’s oldest national park, if something as iconic as that falls in the face of illegal business interests, what part of our planet is safe from human greed?”

Virunga has been streaming on Netflix since Nov. 7.