The screenplay was written by Martin Fields, Ann Cain, and J. Garry McDonald and is based on Fossey's memoirs, a friend's novel, and the autobiography of Harry Greene, an American naturalist, co-worker, and friend to Fossey.
Set in 1969, the film focuses on Dian Fossey and her attempt to study the mountain gorillas of the Virunga Mountains of the Rwanda-Uganda border region in Africa. The story is based on the accounts of Fossey's life and work at Karisoke Research Center, which she founded in 1967.
Gorillas in the Mist was released by Miramax on June 6, 1988, and grossed over $70 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing independent film at that time. Upon its release, the film received critical acclaim, with praise directed at the direction, acting, cinematography, and Fossey's story and environmental message.
Plot
In the African jungles in 1969, naturalist Dian Fossey has discovered a large population of gorillas in the Virunga mountains of Rwanda and Uganda, a discovery that could change the fate of the mountain gorillas by attracting attention and funding. To prevent her work from being banned, she undertakes a risky journey to the rebel-held Rwandan towns to meet with the Rwandan government. She is met with more hostility than expected, and is forced to use her strength and sex appeal to negotiate her way through to her goal. Fossey meets with President Gregoire Kayibanda, but he is weak and impotent and cannot carry out her plan.
After being forced to leave the mountain, Fossey ends up in the town of Gisenyi, where she is befriended by a young woman, Eleodie. Eleodie follows Fossey back to Karisoke and becomes her assistant, and eventually, lover. Fossey is also introduced to Olivier, a French scientist who is fascinated by gorillas, and they begin an affair.
Fossey learns that Rwanda has become a one-party state, in which the Hutu ethnic group has established a dictatorship. The government refuses to allow the female gorillas to breed, and the men are forced to leave the mountains. Meanwhile, the United Nations threatens to close down Karisoke unless it does something about the crisis. Because of Fossey's celebrity, she is offered a meeting with President Kayibanda,
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