" At the end of the summer 2002 tornado season, after
we had already covered 25,600 kilometers over six weeks
without seeing a single tornado, we decided to stay on
one more day. We got a lot more than we bargained for,
as we found ourselves in the heart of the action-at the
risk of our lives. The images we brought back are breathtaking.
" - Sean Casey, Director of photography, tornado
chaser.
Montréal, September 28, 2004 - Starting
October 1, the IMAX® Theatre at the Montréal
Science Centre in the Old Port will be showing FORCES
OF NATURE, a film by George Casey.
The film, ten years in the making, brings viewers face
to face with the spectacular world of VOLCANOES, EARTHQUAKES
and TORNADOES, to help them better understand these devastating
phenomena. Film crews follow three scientists working
in three different countries, like living laboratories,
where they are trying to predict these natural disasters,
find solutions to minimize their destructive effects and
save lives and property as best they can. The images they
capture are simply spectacular.
When the earth trembles and mountains explode, when the
sky darkens and sinister spirals appear, what upheavals
and ravages are sure to follow? In such situations people
normally run and hide, seeking shelter for themselves
and their families. But in this film, the camera crews
face Nature straight on as it spits ash and magma, gapes
wide open and snaps shut again, and don't flinch from
the black twisters that threaten to sweep everything before
them. Where and when will these disasters strike? Even
these three scientists often can't say. Nonetheless, while
they can't control these phenomena, they risk their lives
to understand and, whenever possible, predict them.
At the Monserrat Volcano Observatory, Dr. Marie
Edmonds keeps watch over the Soufrière
Hills volcano. Local residents realized that they were
sitting on a time bomb when pyroclastic flows of ash and
lava began racing down the mountain in 1995. Today, the
young scientist continues to search for warnings of imminent
eruptions, using an arsenal of sophisticated instruments.
Positioning these instruments on the rim of the crater
is a perilous job for Edmonds and her colleagues, though.
Laser reflectors that register even a few centimetres
of ground deformation deliver clues that the volcanic
chamber may be ready to burst. And in fact we do see Soufrière
Hills wreak havoc once again.
Geophysicist Dr. Ross Stein takes us to
Istanbul, Turkey, where he explains how the city is built
on continental plates floating on shifting rock. Using
a model, he shows a fault line near the capital and predicts
pressures that could lead to a major earthquake. His model
proves sadly accurate when a catastrophic shock shatters
the city of Izmit in 1999, killing 17,000 dead and injuring
thousands more, as captured on film here.
People in the American Midwest rightfully fear the devastating
power of a sudden storm. Dr. Joshua Wurman
and his team log thousands of kilometers each spring criss-crossing
the highways and dirt roads of the nation's aptly named
"Tornado Alley." Using their specially equipped
trucks, they attempt to see right into the eyes of tornadoes,
to understand how these funnel-shaped "twisters"
are born. Their job is complicated by the fact that the
trucks have to be positioned on either side of the storm,
at a 90º angle, just as the tornado is forming.
The film's executive producer, Lisa Truitt,
praises the work of scientists like these, who are constantly
pushing the edges of their fields, and their courage.
Director George Casey (Alaska, Africa:
The Serengeti, Amazing Journeys) says that "Mother
Nature is the most temperamental screen diva a director
can work with." Being in the right place at the right
time was critical, and so was the film crew's safety.
But they succeed brilliantly with Forces of Nature.
The result is the perfect combination of subject and medium:
nature's grandest phenomenon captured on the world's biggest
film format. This large-format film produced by National
Geographic, in collaboration with Graphic
Films and the National Science Foundation,
is narrated by famous actor Kevin Bacon.
It is being presented at the Montréal Science Centre
IMAX® Theatre starting October 1, 2004.
For more information on schedules and pricing for IMAX®
films, or to purchase tickets by telephone, call (514)
496-IMAX or 1 800 349-IMAX, or visit www.MontrealScienceCentre.com
The Montréal Science Centre wishes to thank its
sponsors, Pfizer, Hydro-Québec and Mouvement Group.
- 30 -
Press Relations :
Anna Klimalanka-Leroux
Director, Press Relations
Groupe Popcorn
Tel. : (514) 374-5228 ext 101
Fax : (514) 374-9115
aleroux@groupepopcorn.com
Information :
Catherine Giroux
Press Relations Coordinator
Old Port of Montréal Corporation
Tel. : (514) 283-8085
cgiroux@oldportofmontreal.com
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