(via Chicart PR) Two film productions centred around a sunken galleon with a $17 billion treasure on board have just been announced at the Cannes Film Market. Shipwreck Movie Rights Ltd., in association with Rampage Entertainment and Byron A. Martin Productions, has just acquired the exclusive rights and launched the production of The San Jose, a dramatic feature film, plus the documentary San Jose: The Recovery.
In 1708, a Spanish Galleon called the San Jose was on its journey from Panama to Colombia only to get sunk by a British warship. To make matters worse, there was a huge cargo of gold and jewels on the ship, which has remained underwater ever since. The wreck was rediscovered in 1982 by a team of salvagers from the U.S. known as the Glocca Morra company, but the Colombian government has not allowed anyone to salvage the wreck. But sometime later this year, a salvage team hopes to finally bring the shipwreck to the surface, and unearth the long lost treasure. At the same time, the two movie productions about this shipwreck are currently working through pre-production. The producing team is presently attending the Cannes Film Market in France to secure additional financing and distribution for both projects.
The San Jose will be a character-driven narrative which explores the many dangers in this intense exploration of a treasure that’s at the centre of a legal battle. Nothing makes for a scarier story than the search for deep sunken treasure — especially when it has been forbidden by authorities who won’t change their mind anytime soon. San Jose: The Recovery will document the ship’s historic sinking, current discovery, and on-going legal battles.