Orlando von Einsiedel

Directing

Orlando von Einsiedel

Born

1980-01-01 (46)

Place of birth

London, UK

Known for

Directing

Credits

24 titles

Orlando von Einsiedel (born in August 1980) is a British film director. He directs mostly documentary films that investigate global social issues, and has filmed in various places around the world, including Africa, Asia, America and the Arctic. Von Einsiedel became known for his award winning film Virunga, produced with the cooperation of Virunga National Park director Prince de Merode.

Known for

The Lost Children poster
7.4

After a plane crash, four indigenous children fight to survive in the Colombian Amazon using ancestral wisdom as an unprecedented rescue mission unfolds.

The Lost Children

2024

Virunga poster
7.9

Virunga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest national park, a UNESCO world heritage site, and a contested ground among insurgencies seeking to topple the government that see untold profits in the land. Among this ongoing power struggle, Virunga also happens to be the last natural habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorilla. The only thing standing in the way of the forces closing in around the gorillas: a handful of passionate park rangers and journalists fighting to secure the park’s borders and expose the corruption of its enemies. Filled with shocking footage, and anchored by the surprisingly deep and gentle characters of the gorillas themselves, Virunga is a galvanizing call to action around an ongoing political and environmental crisis in the Congo.

Virunga

2014

The Cycle of Love poster
NR

Explores the romantic journey of PK Mahanandia, a Delhi street artist who trekked 6,000 miles by bicycle in 1977, venturing across continents to reunite with the woman he loved.

The Cycle of Love

2026

The White Helmets poster
7.4

As daily airstrikes pound civilian targets in Syria, a group of indomitable first responders risk their lives to rescue victims from the rubble.

The White Helmets

2016

Convergence: Courage in a Crisis poster
4.8

Activists and volunteers work through the darkest days of 2020, galvanizing social change amidst chaos as governments start to fail local communities. This epic, globally spanning and deeply passionate documentary serves as a clarion call that great change can be born of crisis.

Convergence: Courage in a Crisis

2021

The Walk poster
NR

Asil is a young Syrian refugee awaiting documents in Turkey while processing the trauma of losing her home and family. Her story gives voice to a charming gigantic puppet named Amal, who represents millions of migrant and displaced children in a walk from the Syrian border in Turkey all the way across Europe. Escorted and animated by a group of puppeteers who are themselves refugees, Amal’s epic journey is one of compassion and discovery.

The Walk

2023

Film credits

Behind the camera

The Lost Children poster
7.4

After a plane crash, four indigenous children fight to survive in the Colombian Amazon using ancestral wisdom as an unprecedented rescue mission unfolds.

The Lost Children

2024

Virunga poster
7.9

Virunga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest national park, a UNESCO world heritage site, and a contested ground among insurgencies seeking to topple the government that see untold profits in the land. Among this ongoing power struggle, Virunga also happens to be the last natural habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorilla. The only thing standing in the way of the forces closing in around the gorillas: a handful of passionate park rangers and journalists fighting to secure the park’s borders and expose the corruption of its enemies. Filled with shocking footage, and anchored by the surprisingly deep and gentle characters of the gorillas themselves, Virunga is a galvanizing call to action around an ongoing political and environmental crisis in the Congo.

Virunga

2014

Virunga poster
7.9

Virunga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest national park, a UNESCO world heritage site, and a contested ground among insurgencies seeking to topple the government that see untold profits in the land. Among this ongoing power struggle, Virunga also happens to be the last natural habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorilla. The only thing standing in the way of the forces closing in around the gorillas: a handful of passionate park rangers and journalists fighting to secure the park’s borders and expose the corruption of its enemies. Filled with shocking footage, and anchored by the surprisingly deep and gentle characters of the gorillas themselves, Virunga is a galvanizing call to action around an ongoing political and environmental crisis in the Congo.

Virunga

2014

Virunga poster
7.9

Virunga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest national park, a UNESCO world heritage site, and a contested ground among insurgencies seeking to topple the government that see untold profits in the land. Among this ongoing power struggle, Virunga also happens to be the last natural habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorilla. The only thing standing in the way of the forces closing in around the gorillas: a handful of passionate park rangers and journalists fighting to secure the park’s borders and expose the corruption of its enemies. Filled with shocking footage, and anchored by the surprisingly deep and gentle characters of the gorillas themselves, Virunga is a galvanizing call to action around an ongoing political and environmental crisis in the Congo.

Virunga

2014

The Cycle of Love poster
NR

Explores the romantic journey of PK Mahanandia, a Delhi street artist who trekked 6,000 miles by bicycle in 1977, venturing across continents to reunite with the woman he loved.

The Cycle of Love

2026

The White Helmets poster
7.4

As daily airstrikes pound civilian targets in Syria, a group of indomitable first responders risk their lives to rescue victims from the rubble.

The White Helmets

2016

Convergence: Courage in a Crisis poster
4.8

Activists and volunteers work through the darkest days of 2020, galvanizing social change amidst chaos as governments start to fail local communities. This epic, globally spanning and deeply passionate documentary serves as a clarion call that great change can be born of crisis.

Convergence: Courage in a Crisis

2021

Convergence: Courage in a Crisis poster
4.8

Activists and volunteers work through the darkest days of 2020, galvanizing social change amidst chaos as governments start to fail local communities. This epic, globally spanning and deeply passionate documentary serves as a clarion call that great change can be born of crisis.

Convergence: Courage in a Crisis

2021

The Walk poster
NR

Asil is a young Syrian refugee awaiting documents in Turkey while processing the trauma of losing her home and family. Her story gives voice to a charming gigantic puppet named Amal, who represents millions of migrant and displaced children in a walk from the Syrian border in Turkey all the way across Europe. Escorted and animated by a group of puppeteers who are themselves refugees, Amal’s epic journey is one of compassion and discovery.

The Walk

2023

The Lost Forest poster
7.0

How would natural habitats develop without human interference? In this documentary we follow an international team of scientists and explorers on an extraordinary mission in Mozambique to reach a forest that no human has set foot in. The team aims to collect data from the forest to help our understanding of how climate change is affecting our planet. But the forest sits atop a mountain, and to reach it, the team must first climb a sheer 100m wall of rock.

The Lost Forest

2020

From Devil’s Breath poster
6.0

FROM DEVIL’S BREATH tells the unlikely story of two remarkable narratives that come crashing together; the extraordinary, inspiring community of survivors of the deadly 2017 wildfires in Portugal, fighting to ensure what they’ve lived through can never happen again; and a revolutionary, world-changing scientific discovery which could help protect us all from the climate emergency.

From Devil’s Breath

2021

Lost and Found poster
8.0

Lost and Found provides an in-depth focus into the Myanmar military’s campaign of ethnic cleansing and violence perpetrated against the Rohingya, and one man’s life mission to reunite separated Rohingya children with their parents.

Lost and Found

2019

Evelyn poster
7.3

Haunted by the suicide of a brother, a director and his kin walk across the UK in an emotionally trying, visually sublime journey toward healing.

Evelyn

2019

Into Dust poster
NR

When activist Perween Rahman is murdered, her sister Aquila returns to Karachi, Pakistan, to investigate, and finds herself caught up in powerful forces intent on stealing the city's water. Based on a true story, Into Dust follows the journey of a woman who worked tirelessly to protect the water rights of Pakistan's most poor and ended up making the ultimate sacrifice.

Into Dust

2021

We Ride: The Story of Snowboarding poster
7.0

Grain Media and Burn Energy Drink tell the story of snowboarding through the eyes of the people who made it happen. From its origins in the culturally shifting 1960s, to its boom in the 90s, to its acceptance as a mainstream sport, snowboarding has had a roller coaster history. A fully immersive archive film narrated by Jason Lee and a cast of dozens of snowboarders, We Ride: The Story of Snowboarding is the first feature film to tell the story of how this outsiders' sport became huge.

We Ride: The Story of Snowboarding

2013

An Unfinished Symphony poster
NR

The Miagi Orchestra is a South African orchestra dedicated to helping the nation overcome decades of violence, conflict and division through the power of music. The film follows two of its musicians: Tsepo Pooe, who grew up in Soweto Township; and Lize Schaap, who grew up in wealthy Pretoria. Through their eyes, and differing experiences of growing up in South Africa, we understand the enormous impact apartheid continues to have, but also see hope for a brighter future for the country. The Miagi Orchestra’s mission is inspired by the work and legacy of Nelson Mandela, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

An Unfinished Symphony

2020

Allies in Exile poster
NR

For 14 years, Syrian filmmakers Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi have journeyed together through war and storytelling. Their bond was forged on the frontlines of revolution where their cameras recorded terror and hope, laughter and heartbreak – moments that defined a generation. Years later, their story takes an unexpected turn. Confined inside a UK asylum hotel, Hasan and Fadi document a new chapter shaped not by bombs, but by waiting, bureaucracy, and exile.

Allies in Exile

2026

Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul poster
8.7

In a country with innumerable problems, Skateistan represents an oasis where children can be children and build the kinds of cross-cultural relationships that Afghanistan needs for future stability.

Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul

2011

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

2017 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary

2017

No artwork available
NR

As a boy growing up, Samuel Mugisha dreamed of being a part of the Rwandan national cycling team, Team Rwanda, as he believed it would be a way to help make money for his family. What he discovered was something else entirely. In a country trying to get over the trauma of a genocide, Team Rwanda represents a lot more than sport.

King of the Mountain

2015

No artwork available
NR

As a boy growing up, Samuel Mugisha dreamed of being a part of the Rwandan national cycling team, Team Rwanda, as he believed it would be a way to help make money for his family. What he discovered was something else entirely. In a country trying to get over the trauma of a genocide, Team Rwanda represents a lot more than sport.

King of the Mountain

2015

Into the Fire poster
NR

In an area of Iraq destroyed by ISIS, Hana Khider leads an all-female team of Yazidi deminers in their attempts to clear the land of mines. Their job involves painstakingly searching for booby traps in bombed out buildings and fields, where one wrong move means certain death. Hana works for the Mines Advisory Group, an organization who are part of the ‘International Campaign to Ban Landmines’, a coalition awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.

Into the Fire

2019

Still Human poster
6.0

In war-torn South Sudan, Makur Diet knows all too well the horror of conflict. Over ten years ago, he lost his leg to a bullet. Makur was close to giving up, until one day he was given a prosthetic leg, and with it a new lease of life.

Still Human

2020