Giant Screen Cinema: MacGillivray Freeman Films and Oceana Partner to Bring International Attention to “To The Arctic”

MacGillivray Freeman Films, leading producers of original giant-screen IMAX Theatre films, and Oceana, the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation, today announced a partnership to develop a global marketing and educational outreach campaign for the release of the film To The Arctic.

To the Arctic is a timely new 3D documentary and the first for IMAX Theatres to document the unprecedented changes occurring near the North Pole as temperatures in the Arctic heat up due to climate change. The partnership was formally announced today by Greg MacGillivray, president of MacGillivray Freeman Films and Jim Ayers, vice president of Oceana.

Shot entirely in 15/70mm in Canada and Alaska, To The Arctic uses the immersive power of 3D IMAX cinematography to document the abundance of life and diversity found in the Arctic as well as the dramatic transformations taking place in the region from climate change. The film is produced and directed by two-time Academy Award-nominee Greg MacGillivray, with Oceana scientists serving as advisors. Principal photography is expected to be completed by summer 2010, with a worldwide release planned for spring 2011.

Commenting on the partnership, Ayers said, “As goes the Arctic, so goes the planet. Though most of us may never set foot in the Arctic, it means something to all of us, both as one of the last wild corners of our world and also as a critical component of the worldwide climate system. Loss of sea ice, ocean acidification, industrial fishing, oil and gas, shipping and pollution are already threatening the Arctic. Oceana believes that To the Arctic, produced by the powerful team that brought us Everest and The Living Sea, will play an incredibly important role in bringing the awe and wonder of the Arctic to audiences around the world, and raising international awareness about the importance of a healthy Arctic to the future well-being of our planet.”

Added MacGillivray: “To The Arctic uses the most powerful film medium in the world to immerse moviegoers in this truly extreme and magnificent environment that is rapidly changing before our eyes. Our unique 3D images of the Arctic’s icy fjords and glacial rivers, its abundant and diverse wildlife such as the Greenland shark, and its native peoples, will remind viewers that what is happening in the Arctic is important to us all. Together with the creative team at Oceana, our marketing and educational outreach campaign will forcefully deliver the film’s message to an international audience of millions. Our hope is that these viewers will be inspired to think differently about their relationship with the environment and become ambassadors for positive change and greater protection of our world oceans.”

To The Arctic is the seventh in MacGillivray Freeman’s series of ocean- and water-themed films that promote conservation of the natural world. Rare and stunning wildlife footage reveals the diversity of this complex environment and shows the real effects of climate change. Viewers will dive underwater with a polar bear and her cub, discover a world beneath the ice where corals and odd creatures such as the Greenland shark thrive, and fly above a thundering herd of caribou making their way to their calving ground in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

MacGillivray’s portfolio of mission-oriented giant screen films includes two Academy Award-nominated films, The Living Sea and Dolphins, as well as Coral Reef Adventure, Mystery of the Nile, Hurricane on the Bayou and last year’s Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk which combined have grossed more than $375 million dollars at the worldwide box office.

To The Arctic is produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films and MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation in association with the Campion Foundation and Oceana. It will be released as part of MacGillivray Freeman’s Great Adventure Film® series, a brand that encompasses original giant screen productions based on real-life adventures in remote locations and that celebrate the discovery of the natural world.

About Oceana (www.Oceana.org)

Oceana campaigns to protect and restore the world’s oceans, including the Arctic Ocean. Its team of marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates win specific and concrete policy changes to reduce pollution and to prevent the irreversible collapse of fish populations, marine mammals and other sea life. Global in scope and dedicated to conservation, Oceana has campaigners in North America (Washington, DC; New York, NY; Juneau, AK; Kotzebue, AK; Portland, OR; Monterey, CA), Europe (Madrid, Spain and Brussels, Belgium), Central America (Belize City, Belize), and South America (Santiago, Chile). More than 300, 000 members and e-activists in over 150 countries have already joined Oceana.

About MacGillivray Freeman Films and its Educational Foundation
(www.macfreefilms.com www.mffeducation.org)

MacGillivray Freeman Films is the world’s leading independent producer and distributor of special venue, giant-screen 70mm motion pictures that aim to enrich lives and inspire discovery of the world. The company’s films have won numerous international awards including two Academy Award® nominations for Best Documentary Short Subject for Dolphins and The Living Sea. It is the only production company with two films inducted into the IMAX Hall of Fame. In 1998 the company’s hit film Everest achieved unprecedented box office success for a giant screen film and is currently the highest grossing giant screen film of all time. In 2004, company president Greg MacGillivray and his wife Barbara founded the MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation to fund and produce educational giant screen films and companion educational programming focusing on science, the environment, world culture and natural heritage locations. MacGillivray Freeman films are known for their artistry and successful blend of education and entertainment, as well as their celebration of science and the natural world.

Media contacts:
Lori Rick, MacGillivray Freeman Films, 949-494-1055, lrick@macfreefilms.com
Maggie Hardy, Oceana, 831-643-9220, mhardy@oceana.org