'To the Arctic' at Fernbank IMAX Theatre: An ice-bound adventure for the whole family!

Last Saturday, my family attending the opening celebration at Fernbank Museum of the new IMAX® film, To The Arctic. The making of this film was truly epic. The filmmaking team visited the Arctic seven times over a four year period, logging a total of 8 months on the ice and on the Arctic Sea. This story of love, family and survival in the harshest place on Earth was fabulous!  The film shows how the life cycles of caribou, seals and polar bears are all connected and all dependant on the timing and size of the ice pack. Director Greg MacGillivray notes. “With average temperatures rising faster here than anywhere else, the once-permanent summer ice pack is shrinking at an alarming rate and could ultimately become nonexistent. For the animals and the native people, these changes are already bringing hardship and may eventually threaten their very survival.” 

Narrated by Oscar® winner Meryl Streep, To The Arctic will take you on a never-before-experienced journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her twin seven-month-old cubs as they struggle to survive in a frigid environment of melting ice, immense glaciers, spectacular waterfalls, and majestic snow-bound peaks. Unlike most polar bears who are very difficult to photograph because they are so camera shy, this mother was comfortably indifferent to the cameras and crew. Over the course of a week, she allowed them an unprecedented window into her life at close range—hunting, playing, nursing, and teaching her youngsters how to escape from danger, or stand their ground. The most amazing images were taken underwater of the polar bears swimming.

One of the photographers on this project, internationally renowned nature photographer Florian Schulz, was at Fernbank to tell us about the  making of this film and answer our questions. He worked alongside the filmmakers in this  multi-year expedition and collected thousands of stunning panoramic stills, 200 of which are reproduced in the film’s companion book, To The Arctic, published by Braided River. His image of a polar bear cub looking at its reflection in the water won in the “Wildlife” category of the Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards.
 
This film was fantastic! The photography was breath taking. The kids loved it and even 3 year old Johnny was mesmerized. Every mom will identify with the story of how the mother polar bear struggles to protect and raise her cubs against almost insurmountable odds. This film definitely gets our seal of approval and we know that your family will enjoy it as much as we did.

To The Arctic runs until September 3, 2012 at The Fernbank Museum. Click HERE for more information.