Angelina Jolie to direct Richard Leakey biopic about ivory poaching
This will be the star’s fifth film in the director’s seat
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has signed up to direct Africa, a biopic of Kenyan politician and conservationist Richard Leakey.
Africa will focus on Leakey’s fight against ivory poachers in the 1980s when he was the head of the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS).
During his time as the Chairman of the KWS he ordered rangers to shoot any poachers they found and controversially burned a stockpile of ivory worth millions of pounds.
He also raised millions from Western governments and successfully campaigned for a global ban on ivory trading by stopping elephant poaching.
Leakey’s tenure was contentious among Kenyan politicians. Even though his work channelled money back into Kenya’s wildlife parks, the loss of revenue from the ivory trade was looked upon unfavourably.
However, his methods were effective in re-shaping not just conservation in Kenya but across the world.
The script has been written by Eric Roth, who won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Forest Gump. He also penned Munich and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the latter starring Jolie’s husband Brad Pitt.
Jolie is currently directing By the Sea, a romantic period drama set in the Seventies and stars the actress and Pitt. Jolie also wrote the screenplay for the film, which is being filmed in Malta.
Her third film Unbroken is in post-production and will be out next year.
The 39-year-old actress made her directorial debut in 2007 with the documentary A Place in Time, followed up by the harrowing In the Land of Blood and Honey in 2011 about the Bosnian war.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments