Latest in Virunga

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix and Leonardo DiCaprio are reteaming for a feature adaptation to the documentary Virunga, which will be written by Oscar-winning Moonlight helmer Barry Jenkins. The Oscar-nominated docu, written and directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, was released on the streamer in 2014 and picked up an Oscar…

EXCLUSIVE: The ivory-poaching scourge in Africa is the topic of Netflix’s original documentary The Ivory Game, which premieres November 4 day-and-date in select theaters and on streaming service. The docu comes on the heels of Netflix’s success with Virunga, which earned an Oscar nomination in the Feature Documentary…

Netflix this morning held a TCA panel in which several of its trophied documentary filmmakers talked about their experience having projects distributed by the streaming service. Not surprisingly, they raved about it. Jill Bauer, director-producer of Hot Girls Wanted, told TV critics that the last time she was on her…

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation said today it has funded $15 million in grants to organizations implementing environmental conservation projects worldwide. The latest round of funding from DiCaprio’s group comes after the actor-activist executive produced the Netflix documentary Virunga, which followed a group of…

The eighth annual Television Academy Honors are set, and a pair of freshman series and two HBO projects are among the six recipients. The honors recognize programs that have used the power of television to shift cultural acceptance and influence the hearts and minds of the viewer. Episodes or entire series are…

BREAKING: After their recent first collaboration, Virunga, got a Best Documentary Oscar nom, Leonardo DiCaprio is setting his Appian Way banner in a multi-year first-look deal with Netflix for nonfiction projects that will air exclusively on the streaming service. DiCaprio’s goal is to mix philanthropy with filmmaking…

When writer-director Orlando von Einsiedel set out to tell a positive story about the war-torn continent of Africa, he focused on the renewal happening in Congo's diverse Virunga National Park, which borders Uganda and Rwanda. But when he got to Congo, he found conservationists and park rangers struggling to keep the…

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar campaigning is at a fever pitch as the voting deadline looms, and companies are going all-out to promote their – documentaries? Despite looking up at perceived front-runner Citizenfour, Netflix is working hard to get attention for Virunga, the film about endangered gorillas that it acquired in November…

Netflix is bringing its Feature Documentary Oscar nominee Virunga back into theaters this weekend. The film, about the efforts to protect endangered mountain gorillas in the Congo, bowed November 7 in New York and Los Angeles and now is streaming exclusively on Netflix. As of this weekend, the rollout will see…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 87th Oscars®.  One hundred thirty-four films were originally submitted in the category. The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their…

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced their nominees in the 26th annual award categories of documentary, TV series/specials and digital series.  All other nominations and the names of the eligible producers for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures will be announced on…

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has teamed with Leonardo DiCaprio and his Appian Way Productions to release the Orlando von Einsiedel-directed documentary Virunga. The docu, which follows an embattled team of park rangers and the endangered mountain gorillas they protect in Africa, will be released simultaneously November 7  in…