The Film Will Tell the Incredible True Story
of Four Children Who Survived 40 Days in the Colombian Jungle After
a Plane Crash, With the Children Sharing Their Story For the
First Time
The Film Will Be Directed and Produced by
Colombian Filmmaker Juan Camilo Cruz Along With Little Monster
Films’ E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and Produced by Lightbox’s
Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn alongside Guillermo Galdos with
Pacha Films and Mark Grieco
Today, National Geographic Documentary Films announced a new
film, LOST IN THE AMAZON (working title), directed by
Academy Award®-winning directing-producing team E. Chai Vasarhelyi
and Jimmy Chin (“Free Solo,” “The Rescue”), and Emmy® and BAFTA
Award-winning filmmaker Juan Camilo Cruz (“In Her Hands,” “Messi’s
World Cup”). Double Academy Award-winning producer Simon Chinn
(“Man on Wire,” “Searching for Sugar Man”) and double Emmy
Award-winning Jonathan Chinn (“LA 92,” “TINA”) of Lightbox will
produce alongside Emmy Award winner Guillermo Galdos of Pacha Films
(“From Tenancingo to New York”) and Mark Grieco, along with
Vasarhelyi and Chin.
The documentary will tell the incredible true story of the
struggle for survival of four Indigenous children in the
guerilla-held jungles of Colombia and the daring national effort to
rescue them. The film will exclusively reveal firsthand accounts
from the children detailing their story of survival. Currently in
production, the feature documentary LOST IN THE AMAZON (working
title) will be available exclusively on National Geographic and
Disney+/Hulu. A release date has not been set.
With exclusive, unprecedented access to the four Indigenous
children, Lesly and Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy and Tien and
Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy, LOST IN THE AMAZON (working title)
will share for the first time the story of how after a terrifying
plane crash and the tragic death of their mother, they survived for
40 days in the deep Amazonian rainforest using their Indigenous
knowledge of the jungle. Through firsthand accounts, the
documentary charts the astonishing journey of the siblings, aged
from 11 months to 13 years, as they struggle against the elements,
unaware of an unprecedented search and rescue collaboration between
Indigenous groups and the military to save them. The film will also
feature the incredible stories of the Indigenous and military teams
who joined forces to rescue the children, giving comprehensive
access to every major participant to present the definitive record
of this remarkable true story. The parties involved have also
collaborated on a trust to benefit the children.
The plane crash took place in May of 2023 and transfixed global
media, transcending cultural and political divides as a universal
testament to the unbreakable bond of family and the triumph of
faith and perseverance against impossible odds.
“Chai and Jimmy’s virtuosic approach to telling stories about
people who push the limits of human potential — Alex Honnold in
‘Free Solo,’ the cave divers in ‘The Rescue’ — will be on full
display in LOST IN THE AMAZON (working title),” said Carolyn
Bernstein, executive vice president of Documentary Films for
National Geographic. “We are delighted that talented Colombian
filmmaker Juan Camilo Cruz will be partnering with them along with
our friends at Lightbox. This is truly a documentary film dream
team. I can’t think of a more thrilling combination of storytelling
talent to bring the remarkable journey of these determined and
heroic children to the world.”
LOST IN THE AMAZON (working title) marks another
thrilling project in National Geographic’s long-standing
relationship with Vasarhelyi and Chin’s production company, Little
Monster Films, and the Chinns’ Lightbox. Vasarhelyi and Chin, fresh
off their narrative directorial debut “Nyad,” are directing
alongside Colombian filmmaker Camilo Cruz. The film is executive
produced by Anna Barnes for Little Monster Films. Hollman Morris is
executive producing on behalf of Señal Colombia. Carolyn Bernstein
serves as executive producer for National Geographic Documentary
Films. WME negotiated the deal for Little Monster Films and
director Camilo Cruz, and Submarine Entertainment’s Josh Braun for
Lightbox. The project, produced in association with Colombian
public broadcaster Señal, is being filmed in Colombia with the CINA
Incentive (Audiovisual Investment Certificate), granted by
the Colombian government and administered by Proimágenes
Colombia.
“Our films have a common theme of the indomitability of the
human spirit and its power to move, inspire and remind us all of
what we are capable of when differences can be put aside. LOST
IN THE AMAZON (working title) is the epitome of this message.
We’re thrilled to partner once again with our friends at National
Geographic Documentary Films and thank them for their unwavering
support. We’re honored to be working with Juan Camilo Cruz, from
whom we have already learned so much,” said directors Vasarhelyi
and Chin.
“As a Colombian-born filmmaker, I'm incredibly proud to tell
this story, which shines a light on the people who call the Amazon
home, and the wealth of wisdom it holds. I hope that this film will
make us all think about the real value of the Amazon and the people
who live there, as well as showcasing the incredible bravery of
these four children, who are truly incredible heroes. I see this
story as an example for all of us that it is possible to work
together for something bigger than ourselves, something that this
world desperately needs," said director Juan Camilo Cruz.
Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn of Lightbox echoed those
sentiments: “The story of LOST IN THE AMAZON (working
title) is one of courage, strength and the resilience of four
extraordinary children. We are incredibly proud to partner with
Pacha Films to secure unprecedented access to the children
themselves, to tell their own definitive and inspirational story
for the first time. Juan Camilo Cruz, Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy
Chin are the perfect directing trio, and we can’t think of a better
home than National Geographic for this project.”
Vasarhelyi and Chin most recently directed “Nyad,” about Diana
Nyad’s 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida, which earned Academy
Award, Golden Globe®, and SAG nominations for its stars Annette
Bening and Jodie Foster. Their groundbreaking film “Free Solo,” an
intimate, unflinching portrait of rock climber Alex Honnold, won
seven Emmys, a BAFTA and the Academy Award for Best Documentary
Feature in 2019. Their first film together, “Meru,” won the
Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015 and was on the
2016 Oscar® shortlist for Best Documentary Feature. More recently,
they directed the BAFTA- and DGA-nominated documentary “The
Rescue,” chronicling the against-all-odds rescue of 12 boys and
their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand.
Their new National Geographic series “Photographer” recently
premiered on Disney+, and their film “Wild Life” was released by
National Geographic Documentary Films in 2023. They are set to
direct the upcoming National Geographic Documentary Film
“Endurance.”
Camilo Cruz is an Emmy- and BAFTA-winning filmmaker. He recently
served as the executive producer for the Apple documentary series
“Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend,” focusing on Lionel Messi
during the 2022 World Cup. Throughout his career, Camilo Cruz has
worked on a number of notable films, including “In Her Hands,” a
documentary for Netflix about the youngest female mayor in
Afghanistan, made in collaboration with Oscar-nominated director
Marcel Mettelsiefen and Hidden Light, Hillary Clinton’s production
company. Additionally, he has collaborated with Oscar-nominated
director Matthew Heineman on projects such as “City of Ghosts” and
“The Boy from Medellin,” exploring stories about the war in Syria
and Colombian musician J Balvin, respectively. Camilo Cruz also
directed “Venezuela: Country of Lost Children” for ARTE in Germany
and is currently working on the documentary “Artem” in Ukraine
alongside Sundance-winning filmmaker Artem Ryzhykov.
Since its inception in 2017, National Geographic Documentary
Films has been lauded around the world for telling timely, gripping
and globally relevant stories. It released the Academy-, BAFTA and
seven-time Emmy Award-winning film “Free Solo,” the Academy
Award-nominated and Peabody Award-winning “Bobi Wine: The People’s
President,” the Academy- and BAFTA Award-nominated and Peabody- and
DGA Award-winning “Fire of Love,” and the Academy Award-nominated
and Emmy-winning film “The Cave”. In recent years, the film
banner’s slate has also included the duPont-Columbia Award- and
two-time Sundance award-winner “The Territory;” BAFTA nominees “The
Rescue” and “Becoming Cousteau;” Emmy Award winners “The First
Wave;” “LA 92” and “Jane” and many other critically acclaimed
features and shorts.
About National Geographic Documentary Films
National Geographic Documentary Films, part of a joint venture
between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic
Society, is committed to bringing the world premium, feature
documentaries that cover timely, provocative and globally relevant
stories from the very best documentary filmmakers. Its
award-winning and critically acclaimed films reach 300 million
people worldwide in 180 countries and 33 languages across the
global National Geographic channels and direct-to-consumer
platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Recent films include Oscar® nominated
Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Oscar®- and BAFTA nominated Fire
of Love, three-time Emmy-award winner The First Wave, two-time
Sundance-award winner The Territory, BAFTA nominees The Rescue and
Becoming Cousteau, and Oscar®- and BAFTA winner Free Solo. For more
information visit films.nationalgeographic.com, or find us on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Little Monster Films
Little Monster Films is an Academy®, BAFTA®, and multiple Emmy®
Award-winning production company founded by Chai Vasarhelyi and
Jimmy Chin. Our mission is to capture humanity at its best, aiming
to reflect a diverse world both in front of and behind the camera.
We present grounded narratives with intensity and depth while
showcasing the extraordinary among us who push the limits of human
potential. Our 2021 documentary THE RESCUE, about the world-famous
rescue of the boys’ soccer team from a cave in Thailand, won the
People’s Choice award for best documentary at the Toronto
International Film Festival, was nominated for a BAFTA, and won
three News & Documentary Emmys. Previously, our groundbreaking
film FREE SOLO was awarded a BAFTA and the Academy Award for Best
Documentary Feature in 2019. The film also received seven Emmy
awards. Our latest film WILD LIFE, an environmentalist love story,
recently premiered in theaters and on Disney+. Our first scripted
feature, NYAD, about Diana Nyad’s 110 mile swim from Cuba to
Florida, began streaming on Netflix in the fall of 2023 and
garnered Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG nominations for its
stars Jodie Foster and Annette Bening. Our latest series
PHOTOGRAPHER with National Geographic is now streaming on Disney+,
and our next feature documentary ENDURANCE is currently in
production. www.littlemonsterfilms.com
About Lightbox
Headquartered in London and Los Angeles, Lightbox is a
multi-award winning media company creating high quality non-fiction
content for an array of distribution platforms. It was founded by
two-time Academy Award®-winning producer Simon Chinn (Man on Wire,
Searching for Sugar Man, Whitney) and Emmy® Award-winning producer
Jonathan Chinn (LA 92, American High, Whitney). Lightbox’s recent
productions include: Brandy Hellville & The Cult Of Fast
Fashion for HBO Documentary Films and Max, The Trouble with Mr
Doodle, which premiered at SXSW 2024, The Mission, for theatrical
release and National Geographic Documentary Films, which premiered
at Telluride and the London Film Festival, BAFTA-nominated David
Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, which premiered at DOC NYC and aired on
HBO/Max and Sky Documentaries, Donyale Luna: Supermodel for HBO/Max
and which premiered at the American Black Film Festival 2023;
Spector for Showtime and Sky Documentaries, The Princess, directed
by Academy Award®-nominated Ed Perkins, for theatrical release, HBO
Documentary Films and Sky Documentaries, which premiered at
Sundance 2021; and Emmy Award®-nominated TINA, directed by Academy
Award®-winners TJ Lindsay and Daniel Martin, for HBO/Max, Sky
Documentaries and theatrical release. The company is currently in
production on projects for a range of US, UK and international
broadcasters, platforms and for theatrical release.
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