Lori Rick
OWOO’s first IMAX film presentation, “To The Arctic,” was awarded Best Film (Short Subject) and Best Film for Lifelong Learning

One World One Ocean’s first IMAX film presentation, To The Arctic, took the top two prizes at the 2012 Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) Achievement Awards last week in Sacramento.  The 3D film won Best Film (Short Subject) in a first-ever tie, and Best Film for Lifelong Learning, which honors the film with the greatest educational impact.

The GSCA Achievement awards recognize the best films of the year in the giant-screen IMAX industry and are voted on by the nearly 300 members of the GSCA.

In a year when the melting in Arctic sea ice has set a new record, these awards, and the film itself, seem especially relevant.  MacGillivray Freeman Films produced To The Arctic to draw attention to the rapid changes occurring in the Arctic and their effect on the region’s wildlife.

The film was purposely scheduled as the first of One World One Ocean’s series of IMAX films because of the unique importance of the Arctic Ocean and the speed and scale of the changes occurring there. The film has so far played in 67 IMAX theatres around the world, educating millions about what’s at stake. Scientists agree that unless dramatic action is taken soon to reduce the acceleration of climate change, the Arctic will lose its ice in summer within 4 to 40 years. To The Arctic is, in essence, a rallying cry for public support of Arctic conservation efforts.

So as we celebrate the artistic success and recognition of the educational impact of our first IMAX film, To The Arctic, let us not forget why we made this film in the first place.  So that the film’s three stars–a mama polar bear and her two cubs—and all of the Arctic’s wildlife and native populations can continue to call the Arctic home.

Father and son filmmaking team, Greg and Shaun MacGillivray. © 2012 by Cinergetics, LLC. Photo by James Hyder.