Actress Angelina Jolie is set to direct Africa for Skydance Productions, according to the Los Angeles Times. The announcement was made Friday.

The film is based upon paleontologist Richard Leakey battle against ivory poachers in Africa.

“I’ve felt a deep connection to Africa and its culture for much of my life,” said Jolie in a statement.

She also noted that she “was taken with Eric (Roth)’s beautiful script about 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.”

Roth is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter who also penned Forest Gump, Munich, The Insider and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The release of Africa will mark the fourth feature film that Jolie has directed. Her first film was In the Land of Blood and Honey, a romantic war drama that failed to break even at the box office and received generally mixed reviews.

Two films, Unbroken, a war drama based on the life of an Olympic athlete, and By the Sea, a relationship drama starring her husband Brad Pitt, have yet to be released.

Unbroken, with a script written by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, and William Nicholson, is already generating Oscar buzz. The film is in post-production.

Jolie is currently filming By the Sea. She also wrote the script and acts in the film.

A release date for Jolie’s Africa, which she will co-produce with David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Jon Peters, has not been announced.

“It is very close to my heart, and I know that it will exceed my expectations in Angelina’s hands,” said Skydance Productions Chief Executive David Ellison, of her future work on Africa.