Producers vying for rights to make a film about children who survived a plane crash in Colombia

The rescue of four children who were lost for 40 days in the Amazon jungle in Colombia after an aircraft crashed in March has aroused the interest of Hollywood producers, who intend to extract audiovisual productions based on the plane crash.

The Spanish newspaper El País said that producers and agents from several international studios are meeting in Bogotá to try to reach an agreement with the families of the rescued victims so that those responsible grant permission to transform the story of Lesly, Solemni, Tien and Cristian into a film or a a television series.

According to the newspaper, the main interest of the producers is the testimony of Lesly, 13 years old, responsible for keeping the brothers alive for 40 days in the dense and dangerous jungle. In total, 13 companies are in Colombia trying to buy the rights, including Warner Bros, Netflix and NatGeo.

“It became a bidding war to see who paid the most. Everyone is in a hurry to get the rights and be able to sell the story exclusively to the platforms”, reveals a source close to the negotiations.

The newspaper says that the children’s grandparents even had a contract with an American company in their hands, but they rejected it because it included a clause that gave the company perpetual rights.

In view of this, the grandparents’ lawyers asked the production companies to make offers that are compatible with indigenous jurisdiction, as well as include benefits for the community of Araracuara, the Amazonian town where the children come from. Another of the requests is that the film’s directing team include a member of Colombian nationality.

According to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, Netflix does not confirm “anything about the matter”. The Colombian channel Caracol is also interested in producing a series on the subject.

Series start to be produced

While in Bogotá, agents and producers are disputing the purchase of the rights, in the US a TMZ investigation team has already started broadcasting on Hulu and Fox News the first season of the series “The miracle of the children of the Amazon”, a documentary based on testimonies of the family, the military and the indigenous people who participated in the operations.

President Gustavo Petro announced on Twitter that documentary filmmaker Simon Chinn, winner of two Oscars, will be responsible for producing the documentary “Operação Esperança”, which will include not only the history of children, but also that of the military and indigenous peoples. who participated in the rescue.

Reunited with the two-time Oscar winner in documentary @Simonlchinn and RTVC team up to produce the documentary “Operación Esperanza” @HOLLMANMORRIS@guillermogaldos pic.twitter.com/SnmoS1AEFE

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 22, 2023

However, the National Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon did not like the haste of the Colombian president, considering that the “decision on production was taken unilaterally by the national government”, considering that the State cannot make decisions about the making of a documentary based on family members, the indigenous guard, and organizations and communities.

Children Who Survived Colombian Plane Crash Found After 40 Days | LIVE CNN

“We express our rejection of the announcement of this documentary production, since the decision on its production is taken unilaterally by the national government, ignoring the fact that the search work was initially carried out by teams of the indigenous peoples of the area and their families. and, later, by the military forces”, wrote the organization in a statement, asking that the production not go ahead until there is a space in which all the organizations and people involved can participate in the decision.

The children’s custody is still being decided in court, after the children’s maternal grandfather accused the children’s father and stepfather of domestic violence and attempted abuse of the 13-year-old stepdaughter, with the four brothers in state custody.