Doing it with Frieling: Anna and daughter Gracie fight the oil giants

 
Dave Benett
15 October 2013
The Weekender

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Anna Friel stars in a new short documentary directed by Stephen Poliakoff called Virunga, about the National Park of the same name in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is threatened by oil exploration.

Friel took her daughter, eight-year-old Gracie, along on the shoot in east Africa, and they were both at the screening yesterday at the BFI Imax.

The documentary was created as part of WWF's Draw the Line campaign, which is an attempt to save the Virunga National Park from oil exploration.

The oil and gas company Soco has begun aerial surveys of the area this month, despite concerns of the British government and campaigners. The film focuses on the future of the 700 remaining mountain gorillas in the area, along with 200 other species not found anywhere else in the world. It also highlights the beauty of the landscape, from snow-capped mountains to lush tropical rainforest and volcanoes - all of which would be threatened by oil excavation, along with the livelihoods of the local people.

Friel said, in support of the film: “I was incredibly fortunate to experience the beauty of Uganda’s parks with my daughter Gracie, and I now feel even more of a responsibility to help preserve this area for future generations. If we fail to act now, the heritage of this ‘protected’ area and these extraordinary creatures could no longer exist by the time Gracie is my age. If oil exploration can threaten a place as beautiful and meaningful as Virunga, where’s next?”

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