Paris-based Goodfellas Snags Worldwide Sales Rights to Galapagos Adventure Doc ‘Lions of the Sea’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Anna Marie de la Fuente Vincent Maraval’s Goodfellas has seized the worldwide sales rights to Galapagos adventure doc “Lions of the Sea,” which wrapped principal photography in mid-January. “Sea” is the latest from Ecuadorian explorer-filmmaker Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador, best known by his nom de cinéma, Jamaicanoproblem, and whose film “Son of Man” was Ecuador’s official selection for the 2019 Academy Awards.

Described by the filmmaker as “a fictional account grounded in science,” “Lions of the Sea” is set in the Galapagos Islands where a young sea lion struggles to fend for himself in the face of food scarcity and after his mother has been killed by illegal fishermen.

Determined, he sets out to find a new sanctuary. “I hope to call attention to the problems that beset the islands, not only from climate change but from over-fishing and other factors that have led to the decline of the sea lion population by roughly 60%,” says Fernandez-Salvador, who has visited the UNESCO World Heritage site all throughout his life, calling it his “personal paradise.” Along with lead producer Adam Leipzig, former president of National Geographic Documentary Films, and co-producer Mido De Santi, Fernandez-Salvador led a team of Academy Award-winning talent that includes executive producer Guillermo Navarro, the Oscar-winning DP of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” editor Hervé Schneid (“Amélie”) and sound designer Nicolas Becker (“Sound of Metal”), who will also compose the music soundtrack with Quentine Sirjacq (“Black Flies”).

They also assembled some of the best underwater cinematographers in the biz, including Jeff B. Hester, Dan Beecham, Jenny Baumert and Santiago Cabral.