Behind the scenes: The Extraordinary Journey Behind Lions of the Skeleton Coast – A Tale of Survival, Resilience, and Groundbreaking Cinematography

Get ready to dive into a captivating story of survival and resilience. In our upcoming interview, Lianne and Will Steenkamp of Into Nature Productions will take us behind the scenes of their breathtaking documentary, Lions of the Skeleton Coast. As the talented producer, director, cinematographer, and writers of the film, Lianne and Will share their unique journey and insights into bringing this powerful story to the screen. Together, they have crafted a documentary that showcases the beauty and challenges of the Skeleton Coast like never before.

Deep within the unforgiving terrain of Namibia's Skeleton Coast, a gripping and emotional tale unfolds, one that has never been seen before. Desert Lions: The Silent Survivors takes viewers into one of the harshest environments on Earth, where the relentless forces of nature test the limits of life itself. This breathtaking documentary follows Dr. Philip Stander, a dedicated lion researcher, as he tracks the extraordinary journey of three orphaned desert lion cubs. Over eight years, the filmmakers capture unprecedented lion behaviour—new to science—and reveal an intimate, heartbreaking story of survival against all odds.

With stunning cinematography, a deeply immersive storytelling approach, and an emotional score, the documentary not only showcases the resilience of these "desert phantoms" but also offers a rare glimpse into their world, where each day is a battle for life.

Lions of the Skeleton Coast is not just a film about lions; it’s a powerful narrative about adaptation, hope, and the untold stories of our planet’s most elusive creatures. Through the lens of groundbreaking cinematography and an insightful portrayal of Dr. Stander’s journey, Lions of the Skeleton Coast invites viewers to witness a true wildlife odyssey like no other.

We're proud to share that Lions of the Skeleton Coast recently won the prestigious Grand Prix for Best Documentary at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards 2024, further solidifying its place as a groundbreaking and emotionally powerful film. Produced by Into Nature Productions, a production company based in the Netherlands for the ORF Universum series, this remarkable documentary continues to receive recognition for its outstanding storytelling and visual achievement.

In the interview, Lianne and Will Steenkamp, the Producers, Directors, Cinematographers and Writers will share the moving stories behind the scenes and discuss the challenges faced in bringing this extraordinary documentary to life.

INTERVIEW

1 Into Nature Productions is documenting the astonishing true story about a lion researcher witnessing the most unprecedented lion behaviour whilst following three orphaned desert lion cubs. How did you come to this topic/ in touch with Dr. Philip Stander? Was the idea of filming the lions in this region or the story of Dr. Stander tipping the scale first?

We had been filming in the Namib desert for several years already, working closely with Dr. Stander on a desert lion documentary (Vanishing Kings: Lions of the Namib), and whilst we were busy with a sequel, three female cubs were born. We started following them as they grew up, and with the tragedy of losing their mother and what happened thereafter, we knew we had to continue following them and make a third desert lion film… And many years later, when we realized that the story of the orphans was so intertwined with Dr. Stander’s own personal journey, it only made sense for Philip to become a prominent character as well. He brings all of the narratives together.

2 Using a story-telling approach, you aimed to showcase the true life of an extremely rare kind of lion, in one of the most hostile places on Earth. Did you and your film crew need to study the behaviour of lions as well to know how and when to get the best shots and where to observe and find them?

Studying the behaviour of your animals is paramount to documenting their life story in the most accurate and truthful way, and trust plays a huge role in this. The cubs grew up with our presence and very quickly learnt to trust our vehicle. This allowed us to follow and document them closely without having a negative impact. As we followed them for such a long period, we came to know them really well. But in many ways, they kept surprising us by going places they’d never been before and doing things we’d never expected. That was what made these orphans so unique. With no knowledge of their home range, where to find shelter, or how to find prey, they just wandered all over, with no boundaries. This made following them hugely challenging, but also incredibly adventurous. We never knew where we’d end up with them. Thanks to their collars and Philip’s support, we knew where to find them most of the time. But the desert has lots of sensitive and hostile terrain, and often we couldn’t get to the lions. So, studying our environment, learning to drive in challenging habitats, and avoiding damaging the landscape also played a critical role in our success in documenting the lions.

3 Your unique approach to cinematography allowed audiences to experience the Namib desert in an incredibly immersive way, showcasing both the beauty and rawness of the landscape and the life within it. How did you develop the visual style of this film, and what choices or techniques do you feel contributed most to capturing the haunting presence of these 'desert phantoms'?

With our films, we always aim to blend a documentary style with a feature film style by strengthening our cinematic approach with a storytelling narrative. We feel that this style brings our viewer closer to the animals they are watching, allowing for a real connection between our audience and the natural world. When it comes to the cinematography, the truth is, filming such an iconic predator in such an extraordinary environment simply makes for beautiful images. But along with that, it was really important to us that our images would make the audience really feel what these cubs were facing and what a relentless and mysterious place the Skeleton Coast is, especially as that ended up to be a place of salvation for the orphans… The contrasts of this desert and the coastline are phenomenal, which is challenging to capture properly. With aerial filming, we tried to do justice to this vast, magnificent environment. And the power behind every intimate shot of the lions is perhaps the trust between us as filmmakers and the animals—the orphaned lions allowed us a most intimate insight into their lives, and that allows our viewers to immerse themselves in this incredible story. Time is crucial in all this… The scenes captured, the behaviour documented, that is all only possible over time. Wildlife cinemato­graphy goes hand in hand with understanding your subject, capturing behaviour you’d easily miss if you did not know your character or their behaviour. All this together brought about the style of the film.

4 Winning the Grand Prix for Documentary at the 2024 Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards is a huge achievement. How does this honour impact you and your team?

To be awarded the Grand Prix is incredibly overwhelming; it’s a huge honour, and it helps us enormously as wildlife filmmakers in trying to make a difference. This film is by far the most challenging project we’ve ever worked on—it took over eight years, during which we had many setbacks, and there were times when we didn’t know how to carry on, but we knew we couldn’t give up. This heartwarming story of hope and resilience is one that the world needs to see, and we are so thrilled that Cannes has recognised this… It encourages us that our way of filmmaking and the style we choose for our wildlife films seem to have a powerful impact. With our long-term behaviour films, we try to inspire our audience, knowing that if they care about what they see, they will want to protect it. Winning the Grand Prix is a huge motivation for us to continue doing what we’ve been doing, while aiming to raise more awareness for the much-needed protection of our natural world.

To discover more about Into Nature Productions, visit the website at

intonatureproductions.com/about/