Embark on a wonder-filled journey to Canada’s rugged west coast at the Ontario Science Centre with new IMAX® film Great Bear Rainforest

TORONTO (February 12, 2019) – Experience one of the planet’s most exquisite and secluded wildernesses —Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest— when the new documentary Great Bear Rainforest opens at the Ontario Science Centre on February 15, 2019.  From the underwater ocean world, through the salmon river valleys to the ice-capped peaks of the Coast Mountains, journey into a land of grizzlies, coastal wolves, sea otters and humpback whales—and discover the secret world of the Spirit Bear.

“This ambitious film brings this remote, mystical rainforest to life on the big screen, connecting audiences to its unparalleled beauty and varied life,” said Maurice Bitran, Ph.D., CEO and Chief Science Officer, Ontario Science Centre. “Through interwoven stories, Great Bear Rainforest demonstrates the importance of collaboration among First Nations communities, rainforest advocates and scientists to ensure the continued health and survival of this fragile ecosystem.”

Hidden from the outside world, the Great Bear Rainforest is a sanctuary to a stunning diversity of wildlife, including the fabled all-white spirit bear — the rarest bear on Earth—and the indigenous First Nations people, who have provided stewardship of the forest for millennia. It is the largest temperate coastal rainforest in the world and has remained relatively unchanged for more than 10,000 years.

“The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the last truly wild places left on Earth, and has immense value both ecologically and culturally,” says director Ian McAllister. “Many people don’t know about this ancient rainforest and the indigenous people who have helped protect it for thousands of years. We hope audiences will be inspired that an extraordinary world of such natural wonder and splendor still exists.”

McAllister and his crew spent three years filming throughout the remote reaches of the Great Bear Rainforest. Their unprecedented footage of the unspoiled, unsung wilderness of Canada’s primordial rainforest provides an experiential taste of a magnificent realm where ocean, forest, mountain and river meet in a mighty convergence. Great Bear Rainforest celebrates a place that could only have thrived —and will only continue to thrive— through sustained co-existence between humans, land animals and sea creatures.

Narrated by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, Great Bear Rainforest is the first time this pristine, wildlife-rich world will be experienced in IMAX. The filmfeatures music composed and arranged by the legendary Academy Award®-winning composer Hans Zimmer and Anže Rozman for Bleeding Fingers Music. Great Bear Rainforest: A Giant Screen Adventure in the Land of the Spirit Bear, a film companion book written by Ian McAllister and Alex Van Tol, is available for purchase at The Gorilla Store at the Science Centre.

Great Bear Rainforest is a family-friendly film and runs 40 minutes. Tickets are $9. To watch the trailer and to purchase tickets, please visit OntarioScienceCentre.ca. For downloadable film stills, please visit the Science Centre’s online Media Room.

Great Bear Rainforest is a Spirit Bear Entertainment film presented by Seaspan in association with Destination British Columbia and distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films.

NT5