Angelina Jolie has signed on to direct a new film about the palaeoanthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey, particularly his battle to save the elephants of Kenya from the illegal ivory trade. Africa has been written by Eric Roth, the scribe behind the Oscar winning Forrest Gump.

Angelina JolieAngelina Jolie will direct 'Africa' - a film about Richard Leakey

Leakey, the son of anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, is the former head of the Kenya Wildlife Service and has dedicated his life to battling poachers. He spearheaded the creation of armed anti-poaching units, who are authorised to shoot poachers on site.

In 1989, Leakey made headlines after a stockpile of 12 tonnes of ivory worth an estimated three million dollars was burned in Nairobi National Park.

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"I've felt a deep connection to Africa and its culture for much of my life," Angelina Jolie told BBC News, describing the movie's angle as "a man drawn into the violent conflict with elephant poachers, who emerged with a deeper understanding of man's footprint and a profound sense of responsibility for the world around him."

Africa will be Jolie's fourth directed feature film, after 2011's In The Land of Blood and Honey and Unbroken. The latter is due for release in December and chronicles the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II. 

Jolie will also direct her husband Brad Pitt in drama By the Sea. Set in France during the mid-1970s, the film focuses on a former dancer and her husband, an American writer. They appear to be growing apart though when they linger in one quiet, seaside town, they begin to draw closer together.

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