"Lionfish, The Beautiful Outlaw" a Big Hit at Chicago Film Festival

CHICAGO - Paul Cater Deaton's highly anticipated Lionfish, The Beautiful Outlaw was a smash hit at Chicago's prestigious Our World - Underwater 2011 Film Festival. The documentary examines the Indo-Pacific Pterios volitans as an invasive species in the western Atlantic, and the many responses to it.

Screening at a separate, long-form seminar earlier in the day, the film was declared a resounding success and sparked a lively round of discussion. The invasion of the lionfish into the western Atlantic, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, is a hot-button issue. Deaton's treatment of the many sides of the controversy was hailed as objective and insightful.

The film combines breathtaking footage from topside and underwater in destinations all over the world. Filming locations included Key West, Corpus Christi, Bonaire, Las Vegas, the Virgin Islands, Belize, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines and the Egyptian Red Sea. Interviews were conducted with a multitude of SCUBA professionals and marine scientists, including Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, scientist in residence for National Geographic.

Lionfish, The Beautiful Outlaw has also been selected for screening at Boston Sea Rovers, in Danvers, MA, on 5 March, (http://www.bostonsearovers.com/) and Beneath the Sea, in Secaucus, NJ, on 26 March (http://www.beneaththesea.org).

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