Award-Winning Producer/Director Bernard Walton Announces New Film to Protect Ethiopian Jungle Lions
BRISTOL, UNITED KINGDOM (PRWEB) July 31, 2013 -- Award-winning producer and director Dr. Bernard Walton today announced the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to raise financing for his film "Expedition Jungle Lion," a project to raise awareness of and help protect a group of lions newly discovered in the jungles of Ethiopia. Dr. Walton has more than 20 years of experience with the British Broadcasting Corp. and will produce the film through his production company Aqua Vita Films in conjunction with NABU, the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union based in Germany.
"We know a lot about African lions; they’re regularly filmed in the east and southern Africa," Dr. Walton said. "But only last year a new population of lions were found in the cloud forests high in the mountains of southern Ethiopia. This is a new discovery to science. We must find out more about these elusive cats. To protect these lions we need to understand them better."
A trailer for the movie can be viewed online at http://www.vimeopro.com/aquavita/jungle-lions-film. The project’s fundraising is being conducted on Kickstarter at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aquavita/jungle-lions-film-worlds-first. The effort seeks to raise 25 thousand British pounds (approximately $38 thousand) by August 30.
"Lions are in peril. They’re in massive decline right across Africa," said Emma Peace, development producer. "There’s only an estimated one and a half thousand left in Ethiopia alone. Therefore it’s vital that we find out more about these unique lions in order to help protect them."
"Expedition Jungle Lion" seeks to film these lions for the first time to estimate their numbers, identify their food sources and capture their interactions with the indigenous coffee harvesters to help determine their future threats.
Dr. Walton noted that authorized hunters were sent in 2012 to shoot the lions to stop them from preying on local livestock, but failed to shoot any.
"It is now urgent that we document these lions before this happens again," Walton said. "Next time these animals may not be so lucky."
About Aqua Vita Films
Aqua Vita Films is a multi-award winning independent television production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2004, the company specializes in producing high-quality and innovative wildlife, science and adventure television documentaries for international broadcast. Visit Aqua Vita Films on the web and follow Aqua Vita Films on Facebook.
About Bernard Walton
Bernard Walton is a creator of award-winning nature films for 30 years. He spent most of his time with the famous BBC Natural History Unit and for the last 8 years has been running his own independent production company, Aqua Vita Films.
Dr. Bernard Walton, Aqua Vita Films, http://www.aquavitafilms.com, +44 (0) 117 373 0833, [email protected]
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