Press release from Mark Simpfendorfer Productions
Mark Simpfendorfer Productions is pleased to announce that distribution rights to Red Crabs: Australia’s Christmas Island have been granted for IMAX®, Giant Screen and Digital Theaters to two distribution companies. Offset Films, lead by Campbell Woskett and based in Australia will distribute the film in Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East; Big & Digital, lead by Tina Ratterman and based in Louisville, Kentucky, will distribute to theaters in the Americas. Evans and Sutherland have been given rights to the Full Dome market worldwide.
“We are making final adjustments to the film and I am excited to have the energy and experience of Tina Ratterman working on the film in the Americas,” said director and producer, Mark Simpfendorfer.
Red Crabs will be released in 15/70 2D, Digital in 2D and 3D and Full Dome in Summer 2009 with 15/70 3D and 8/70 2D available in Fall 2009. The industry premiere will take place at GSCA during the Annual Conference this September in
Indianapolis.
Red Crabs is a unique and highly entertaining environmental documentary set deep in the Indian Ocean on the tropical oasis of Christmas Island. When monsoon clouds signal the beginning of the wet season, millions of red crabs march
from the rain forest to the ocean to breed.
The red crab population has dropped from hundreds of millions to around forty million in just over a hundred years of human settlement. Audiences join the Red Crabs on their epic journey not just to breed but for the survival of their species. This amazing natural phenomenon is presented in Time-Lapse photography which keeps the audience engaged and entertained.
The technology used for filming Red Crabs is a first for IMAX Theater audiences. It was shot over a two year period with Canon Digital SLR’s at 4K and resulted in a resolution that is six times that of the best High Definition Television
cameras. This transfers to 15/70 film with incredible clarity and detail. Andrew Oran from Fotokem in Los Angeles says, “Red Crabs features what may well be the highest resolution, digital capture employed in a Giant Screen documentary to date.”