National Parks Adventure Wins Best Film of the Year Award
Documentary also takes home Best Cinematography, Best Sound Design, Best Score and Best Marketing Campaign Awards
Laguna Beach, CA, October 12, 2016 — National Parks Adventure took home top honors at the Giant Screen Cinema Association’s Achievement Awards, winning Best Film of 2016 in the Short Subject category. The awards were presented at the GSCA’s annual worldwide conference and trade show, held Oct. 4 to 7 in Toronto.
The film also received achievement awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Design, and Best Original Score, as well as Best Marketing Campaign by a Distributor. Additionally, the film was named in connection with the award for Best Film Launch by a Theatre.
“The response to ‘National Parks Adventure’ has been nothing short of outstanding, and we are honored to receive this recognition by the giant screen industry,” said Shaun MacGillivray, the film’s producer and President of MacGillivray Freeman Films. “The film is inspiring millions of moviegoers to fall in love with the national parks all over again, and to recognize the importance of preserving these untamed wildernesses for generations to come.”
Narrated by Robert Redford, National Parks Adventure was filmed in more than 30 national parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, Arches, and Glacier and in lesser-known parks such as Michigan’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
“National Parks Adventure celebrates not only the Centennial of America’s national parks but wild landscapes everywhere,” said Greg MacGillivray, the film’s director and Chairman of MacGillivray Freeman Films. “These natural environments are an essential part of the human spirit, and we are pleased the film is encouraging our audiences to discover the beauty and sanctuary of nature’s treasures wherever they are.”
In addition to the film’s artistic success, the film has been a commercial powerhouse. National Parks Adventure has generated more than $18 million in worldwide ticket sales since February, making it the highest-grossing documentary of 2016 (for both giant screen and Hollywood-made documentaries).
The film was produced in association with Brand USA, the destination-marketing association for the USA.
“This movie has been an ideal vehicle for showcasing and inspiring visitation to our national parks and the Great Outdoors experiences that await international visitors in the United States,” said Chris Thompson, President and CEO of Brand USA. “In fact, exit surveys have indicated that 81% of those people who have watched the film are either ‘much more likely’ or ‘somewhat more likely’ to visit the United States after seeing the film.”
National Parks Adventure premiered at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History on Feb. 10 and then opened in more than 100 museums and science centers in the U.S. and around the world. The film continues to open in new markets and is anticipated to play in theatres throughout 2017 and beyond.
About MacGillivray Freeman Films
MacGillivray Freeman Films is the world’s foremost independent producer and distributor of giant-screen 70mm films with 38 films for IMAX and other giant-screen theatres to its credit. Throughout the company’s 50-year history, its films have won numerous international awards including two Academy Award® nominations and three films inducted into the IMAX Hall of Fame. MacGillivray Freeman’s films are known for their artistry and celebration of science and the natural world. It is the first documentary film company to reach the one billion dollar benchmark in worldwide ticket sales.
For more information about the company, visit www.macgillivrayfreemanfilms.com.
About Brand USA
Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, was established by the Travel Promotion Act as the nation’s first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. entry/exit policies and procedures to worldwide travelers. The organization’s mission is to increase international visitation to the USA in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the United States worldwide. Formed as the Corporation for Travel Promotion in 2010, the public-private entity began operations in May 2011 and does business as Brand USA. According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past three years, Brand USA’s marketing initiatives have helped welcome more than 3 million incremental visitors to the USA, benefiting the U.S. economy with nearly $21 billion in total economic impact, which has supported, on average, 50,000 incremental jobs a year.
For industry or partner information about Brand USA, visit TheBrandUSA.com. For information about exceptional and unexpected travel experiences in the United States, please visit Brand USA’s consumer website VisitTheUSA.com (global).
