Brand USA shows its Wild side at film premiere

The U.S. National Parks Service was given the star treatment last night, during the Canadian premiere of a new film chronicling a century of wilderness preservation efforts in the U.S.

America Wild was unveiled last night at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, complete with wilderness-themed activities including a rock-climbing wall and a raptor demonstration by the Ontario Falconry Centre.

The event was also co-presented by Air Canada, which recently launched 11 new transborder flights.

The new 40-minute IMAX film, produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films in association with Brand USA, showcases a handful of the more than 400 U.S. National Parks while following a trio of adventurers as they climb, bike and explore their way through the Parks’ various landscapes, from the redwood forests of California to climbing a wall of ice in Pictured Rocks along Michigan’s Lake Superior shoreline. The film also details the steps leading up to creation of the National Parks Service on Aug. 25, 1916

Rachel Pohl, one of the central stars of America Wild

Producer Shaun MacGillivray and Rachel Pohl, one of the film’s central stars, were also on hand as part of a Q & A panel held after the screening. MacGillivray told PAX that while America Wild has drawn sold-out crowds in the U.S., the film has resonated just as strongly with international audiences through its depiction of landscapes both world-renowned and obscure.

“Many of the landscapes we feature are World Heritage Sites and we wanted to cover some of the iconic parks which are beloved around the world, like Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone and Devil’s Tower, but also some hidden gems like Pictured Rocks,” he said. “We wanted be able to share the story of how the parks were made but also to get people around the world to appreciate nature – so many people don’t get to experience that.”

Pohl told PAX that through the film, she hopes to inspire more travellers (particularly young women, she added) to include the Parks in their vacation plans; so far, Pohl has explored 20 of the parks with plans to travel next to Yosemite.

America Wild will be coming to more than 100 theatres across 13 countries this year, including additional screenings in Canadian cities such as Vancouver, Edmonton, Sudbury, Montreal and Quebec City (the film will be shown in both French and English in Quebec). And according to Thomas Garzilli, chief marketing officer for Brand USA, America Wild is just the first of more film projects which the organization will participate in.

Attendees were treated to a raptor demonstration by the Ontario Falconry Centre