Sudbury, ON -- Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees large format film, produced by Science North, was honoured with the Best Film for Learning award at the Giant Screen Theater Association (GSTA) Achievement Awards held tonight in Glasgow, Scotland. The Achievement Awards event was attended by more than 500 delegates representing 29 countries.
"The success of this film can be directly attributed to the people involved," said Jim Marchbank, Science North CEO and Executive Producer of Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees. "Jane Goodall's dedication to chimpanzees and her tireless efforts to communicate her knowledge, combined with the talented Science North team led by David Lickley brought the concept to the giant screen. All are to be congratulated for this achievement."
The Best Film for Learning Award winner is selected in a two-ballot process by approximately 110 GSTA Member Theatres with an educational focus. Any film released in a member theatre in the 2 years prior to the ballot are included on the first ballot. Members are invited to vote for the film that they consider most interesting and compelling and provides a variety of experiences to meet the needs of viewers of different ages and backgrounds. The film must convey useful information and/or dispel misconceptions, encourage reflective thinking, extend viewer interest in the topic and aspire to be meaningful to multinational audiences and languages. A total of twenty-five films were nominated through this process. A second ballot with five finalists was sent to members to choose the winning film. Other
finalists included Bugs, Coral Reef Adventure, Lewis and Clark: the Great Journey West and Space Station.
David Lickley, Producer/Director of Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees was also pleased with the award. "It is very gratifying to be recognized by our peers in the Giant Screen Industry," he said. "What's even more fulfilling is knowing that audiences from the theatres around the world that are represented by the GSTA membership enjoyed the film. As anyone in the film industry will tell you, the people that purchase the tickets are the most important reviewers."
Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees is a Science North production, produced and directed by Science North's David Lickley. It is the third giant-screen film produced by Science North, the only science centre in the world that has an IMAX film director on staff. Gold Fever, Science North's first large format film effort produced for the giant IMAX screens, premiered in 1999, followed by Bears in 2001. Each film had a production budget of approximately $6 million.
Executive producers of Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees are Jim Marchbank, CEO, Science North; Mike Day, Director and Executive Producer of the OMNI Theatre at the Science Museum of Minnesota; and Freda Nicholson, President Emeritus of Discovery Place Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Giant Screen Theater Association (GSTA) is an international association of large format theatres with an educational focus.
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Media contact:
Stephanie Deschenes, Marketing Communications Specialist, Science North
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