Esa'ala Cave
Encyclopedia
The Esa'ala Cave is a large partially unexplored cave in the Esa'ala District
of Papua New Guinea
.
action
thriller adventure
drama film
, Sanctum
, directed by Alister Grierson
and produced by James Cameron
, was inspired by true events that occurred at a cave
site under the Nullarbor Plain
in Australia
. In the film the events take place in the so called Esa'ala Cave system in Papua New Guinea. The actual cave pictured in the Sanctum, where the actors jumped into, was the "Cave of Swallows
" located in Mexico
.
Sanctum was inspired by Andrew Wight's near-death experience when he took an expedition of 15 divers into a remote underwater cave system. Wight and the expedition waged a two-day battle for survival and eventually all 15 were rescued.
Esa'ala District
Esa'ala District is a district of the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Ferguson. The population of the district was 42,493 at the 2000 census....
of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
.
In popular culture
The 2011 3D3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
thriller adventure
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, Sanctum
Sanctum (film)
Sanctum is a 2011 Australian 3D adventure drama film directed by Alister Grierson from a screenplay by John Garvin and Andrew Wight, and story by Wight...
, directed by Alister Grierson
Alister Grierson
Alister Grierson is an Australian film director and scriptwriter. Born in Canberra in 1969, he completed his secondary schooling at Canberra Grammar, graduated in Economics and Arts from the Australian National University and studied Japanese in Tokyo...
and produced by James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, was inspired by true events that occurred at a cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
site under the Nullarbor Plain
Nullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In the film the events take place in the so called Esa'ala Cave system in Papua New Guinea. The actual cave pictured in the Sanctum, where the actors jumped into, was the "Cave of Swallows
Cave of Swallows
The Cave of Swallows, also called Cave of the Swallows , is an open air pit cave in the Municipality of Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The elliptical mouth, on a slope of karst, is wide and is undercut around all its perimeter, further widening to a room approximately 995 feet by 440 feet wide...
" located in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Sanctum was inspired by Andrew Wight's near-death experience when he took an expedition of 15 divers into a remote underwater cave system. Wight and the expedition waged a two-day battle for survival and eventually all 15 were rescued.