Great news! “The Last Lions” feature film, produced and directed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, the renowned wildlife filmmakers, has won five awards at the International Wildlife Film Festival in the USA.

The Jouberts, National Geographic Explorers–in–Residence, are the founders with National Geographic of the Big Cats Initiative.

“The Last Lions” feature film won:
Best Editing
Best Cinematography (tied with Siberian Tiger Quest)
Best Sound Design
Best Film
Best Theatrical Release

For more information on the winners see:
http://wildlifefilms.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/36th-annual-international-wildlife-film-festival-award-winners/

“We see the IWFF awards as a precious opportunity to draw attention to the real issues behind the film — the survival of Africa’s wild lions. The lion population has shrunk from 450,000 to 20,000 and it continues to decline at a rapid rate. Big cat conservation is at the core of everything we do and it is the reason we created the Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic. At present it funds over 34 grants in 17 countries, including on–the–ground conservation projects, education, economic incentive efforts and a global public–awareness campaign. What is special about ‘The Last Lions’ is that National Geographic has agreed to donate all of the profits from the film to the conservation of wild lions,” Dereck and Beverly Joubert said.

“The recent awards from the IWFF gives us a global platform from which to spread this urgent message as we no longer have the luxury of time. We all need to step up and fight for our natural heritage before its too late. Don’t let our last lions blink out of existence forever.” Help “Cause an Uproar” to save big cats by visiting CauseAnUproar.org.