Press Release
Great Migration unfolds on the Giant Screen
Africa: The Serengeti returns to Fernbank Museum IMAX® Theatre
ATLANTA—Herds of animals thunder across the screen as the greatest and longest-running IMAX® drama unfolds in heart-pounding fashion combined with the enthralling narration of James Earl Jones. It is the story of the animals of the Serengeti as they search for food and struggle for survival. For more than 10 years, Africa: The Serengeti has been bringing to life the incredible story of the greatest migration of land animals anywhere on Earth. More than 18 million big-screen fans have witnessed the great herds of wildebeests traveling across the giant screen in this award-winning film, which returns to Fernbank Museum of Natural History January 5 through February 15, 2008 in the Rankin M. Smith, Sr. IMAX® Theatre.
The first African epic filmed in large format, Africa: The Serengeti takes viewers on a journey with more than 1.5 million animals as they travel over 500 miles across the plains of the Serengeti in a giant- screen safari into the "last great place on earth"—where life-and-death dramas are played out daily within the most important animal sanctuary on Earth. A heart-pounding chorus of hooves and racing wildebeests introduces the audience to a spectacle few humans have ever witnessed, The Great Migration. The film is a tribute to the ungainly, clown-like animals as they set out on their year-long odyssey, accompanied by countless zebras and gazelles. Many have made this trip before. For the young it is their first journey; for others, it could be their last.
The Great Migration takes place within the African nations of Tanzania and Kenya and focuses on the Serengeti/Mara ecosystem, an area of more than 18,000 square miles. While this film is an accolade to the wildebeests, it is also a documentary featuring a fascinating array of animals including lions, cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, monkeys and crocodiles.
Africa: The Serengeti will both excite and educate audiences with spectacular visuals of animals in the wild. Elephants must eat several hundred pounds of leaves and twigs a day just to retain their idealweight of 14,000 pounds. Hippos are more menacing than they look, yet there is neither malice nor remorse on the Serengeti. Predators kill to eat, and to feed their own, nothing more. The cattle egret and mottled starling feed on insects brought by the herds while elegant pink flamingos, forthright Kori Bustards, and even lanky ostriches bring their own kind of beauty to the Serengeti.
The Serengeti has been called the cradle of humanity. Viewers will journey into one of the most famous archeological sites on Earth, Olduvai Gorge, near the Ngorongoro Crater. There they will learn of the discovery of a 2 million year-old human fossil and of the people who now call this area their home—the Maasai. Once the most formidable warriors of East Africa, the Maasai now live a more peaceful life tending cattle and family while still maintaining their unique customs and traditions.
One of the most critically-acclaimed large-format films ever produced, Africa: The Serengeti has been seen in more than 150 large-format theatres worldwide and has grossed over $90 million.
Africa: The Serengeti will show daily in Fernbank Museum’s IMAX® Theatre, from January 5 through February 15, 2008. Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at 767 Clifton Road in Atlanta, just east of midtown. IMAX® tickets are $13 for adults, $12 for students/seniors, $11 for children 12 and under, and $8 for members. For tickets call 404.929.6400. For more information call 404.929.6300 or visit fernbankmuseum.org.
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