National Geographic Documentary Films Unveils Lost in the Amazon

E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin are on board a new project with National Geographic Documentary Films that tells the story of four children who survived in the Colombian jungle for 40 days after a plane crash.

The tentatively titled Lost in the Amazon hails from Vasarhelyi and Chin, the duo behind Free Solo, and Juan Camilo Cruz (In Her Hands, Messi’s World Cup). Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn of Lightbox will produce alongside Guillermo Galdos of Pacha Films and Mark Grieco.

The film, currently in production, will be available exclusively on National Geographic and Disney+/Hulu, showcasing the firsthand accounts from the four Indigenous children, Lesly and Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy and Tien and Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy, about their time in in the guerilla-held jungles of Colombia and the efforts to rescue them in the summer of 2023.

The project, produced in association with Colombian public broadcaster Señal, is being filmed in Colombia with the CINA Incentive granted by the Colombian government and administered by Proimágenes Colombia.

“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,” 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.”

“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,” said directors Vasarhelyi and Chin. “Lost in the Amazon 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.”

“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,” Camilo Cruz added. “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.”

Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn of Lightbox added: “The story of Lost in the Amazon 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.”