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Netflix is set to release a brand-new documentary fronted by Sir David Attenborough, revisiting the most moving and celebrated encounter of his illustrious career.

The upcoming factual film A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough will arrive on Netflix on Friday, April 17, reports the Mirror.

A Gorilla Story is described as an "intimate" documentary, weaving together Attenborough's first meeting with a baby gorilla named Pablo in the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda in 1978 and an investigation into how Pablo's direct descendants are now flourishing 50 years on.

The documentary features 99 year old Attenborough reflecting upon his encounter with Pablo and revisiting his journals from his time filming Life on Earth, the programme which captured his unforgettable meeting with the baby gorilla.

The beloved British conservationist shares his present-day thoughts while looking back through his journal entries alongside archival footage from the landmark 1978 natural history documentary.

As well as exploring the naturalist's recollections and the progress of the Pablo Group - the name given to Pablo's descendants - A Gorilla Story reveals that Attenborough's original 1970s film was only made possible through the assistance of pioneering primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey.

Fossey dedicated much of her lifetime to working with and studying mountain gorillas extensively. A Gorilla Story pledges to present a narrative of "hope and joy" and has been helmed by Oscar winner James Reed, who was responsible for My Octopus Teacher, and produced by the Emmy-winning, seasoned nature documentarian Alastair Fothergill.

The production was filmed over 250 days across several years with three camera operators in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

The crew conducted four or six week shoots between four and five times throughout a two-year period.

Producer Fothergill, who has collaborated with Attenborough throughout his entire career, revealed how A Gorilla Story initially originated, stating: "Nobody had ever had the chance to do a proper film on gorillas, and I knew it was critical to get a variety of behaviour. I knew this was a film that had never been made from a pure natural history sense."

The producer praised Attenborough: "He is extraordinary. The pieces to camera are still absolutely beautiful."

Fothergill, who has worked alongside Attenborough for 35 years, continued to say: "I asked him if he was ever going to slow down and he said, 'Absolutely not.'

"He thinks that the reason he's still so sharp is because he's been carrying camera boxes in the field forever and he's writing as much as ever. He likes to be busy."

A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough will be released on Netflix on April 17