Press Release
African Safari Provides Ultimate Adventure
Large-format film at Fernbank brings Africa’s wildest animals to the giant screen
ATLANTA—A new giant-screen film at Fernbank Museum journeys to a land far away where some of the world’s most fascinating animals roam, bringing audiences face to face with five of Africa’s most exciting animals. It’s the trip of a lifetime when Wild Safari: A South African Adventure takes to the five-story screen of Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s IMAX® Theatre from January 2–May 31, 2006
From the abundant grasslands of Addo/Shamwari to the savannahs of the Kalahari, viewers of Wild Safari make a 3,000-mile journey on a quest for the elephant, the Cape buffalo, the rhino, the leopard and the lion—without ever leaving Atlanta. Known in Africa as the “Big Five,” these exciting animals also have long been considered the continent’s most dangerous.
Smashing the boundaries for the giant screen, nWave Pictures creates a new cinematic experience for viewers by putting them in the passenger seat for a South African safari. Field guide Liesl Eichenberger, a young South African zoologist, conducts the game drive from an open-air vehicle and provides viewers with essential information about the different wild animals and their habitats. As audiences travel to diverse South African game reserves—not knowing what they will find over the next hill or around the next turn—they come face-to-face with charging elephants, elusive leopards and hungry lions. Never before has wildlife been seen with such realism on the giant screen.
Wild Safari gives viewers a new appreciation for the beauty and grace of creatures that have only recently been brought back from the brink of extinction. The vitality and importance of the environments and wildlife in South Africa are dramatically shown on the giant screen. Cinematic immersion in the natural habitats of these wild animals demonstrates the importance of the many conservation efforts being made today.
“Throughout the film, we try to lay out some of the basic scientific and educational aspects of African wildlife,” said film director Ben Stassen. “But most importantly, by showing these majestic animals in their wild habitat we want people to see that they are real treasures worth saving. My ambition was to take audiences and transport them to South Africa. I wanted them to get excited about what they saw and to be left with an impression of a very worthwhile cause.”
Wild Safari shows daily in Fernbank Museum’s IMAX® Theatre from January 2–May 31, 2006. IMAX® tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for students/seniors, $8 for children 12 and under, and $6 for members. For tickets call 404.929.6400. For more information and show times call 404.929.6300 or visit www.fernbank.edu/museum.
The film’s running time is approximately 45 minutes. Wild Safari: A South African Adventure is an nWave Picture Production directed by Ben Stassen.
Wild Safari is sponsored locally in part by Fidelity Bank.
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