September 1, 2013. Following the success of its latest critically acclaimed film, Flight of the Butterflies, SK Films, in association with the renowned Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) Tangled Bank Studios unit, will produce the 3D film Amazon Adventure for Giant Screen theatres around the world.
“We’re thrilled to be working with world leading scientists and executives from HHMI and Tangled Bank on this remarkable story,” states Executive Producer and SK Films CEO Jonathan Barker. “The core creative and production team from Flight of the Butterflies, including Co-Executive Producer and Co-Writer, Wendy MacKeigan, will be central to this exciting project.”
HHMI, a science philanthropy whose mission is to advance biomedical research and science education for the benefit of humanity, created Tangled Bank Studios to further science education in the popular media.
Amazon Adventure tells the exciting story of Henry Bates’ fascinating eleven-year journey through the perilous Amazon rainforest as a young man who risks his life for science. As in any great detective story, audiences will experience the compelling clues Bates unearths in his major discovery of the phenomenon of “Batesian” mimicry, whereby certain animals adopt the look of others and thus deceive predators.
Little known to the public, Bates made other crucial contributions to biology: identifying 8,000 new species and most importantly, putting forward the first ever case for speciation – the “chain of progression” from one species to another. This discovery turned out to be the “beautiful proof” for Natural Selection.
Amazon Adventure has received overwhelming support from the Giant Screen industry, with over fifty theatres already endorsing the film.
Amazon Adventure is intended for release in Giant Screen theatres in 2016.
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About Tangled Bank Studios
Tangled Bank Studios, LLC, is a production company dedicated to the creation of original science documentaries for broadcast, theatrical, and digital distribution. Founded in 2012 by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as an extension of its longstanding science education mission, the company aims to produce programs that capture compelling stories of discovery across all branches of scientific inquiry. Headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Tangled Bank Studios partners with producers, broadcasters, and distributors around the world.
About HHMI
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is a nonprofit medical research organization that ranks as one of the nation’s largest philanthropies. HHMI plays a prominent role in advancing biomedical research and science education in the United States.
Founded in 1953 by aviator and industrialist Howard R. Hughes, HHMI is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and employs more than 3,000 individuals across the U.S. HHMI has an endowment of $16.1 billion of which the Institute spent $800 million for research and distributed $119 million in grant support for science education in fiscal year 2012.
About SK Films
SK Films Inc. is a Toronto-based, multi-platform entertainment content provider and a leader in 3D film production and distribution. The company was founded in 1998 together with the late Robert Kerr, the visionary co-founder of IMAX Corporation.
For further information please contact:
Amber Hawtin
Director of Sales and Marketing
SK Films Inc.
E-mail: ahawtin@skfilms.ca
Phone: 416-367-0440 ext. 3033
