B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest focus of new IMAX film

A wild, two-year journey through B.C.'s breathtaking Great Bear Rainforest will soon grace large screens as a feature-length IMAX movie.

B.C. filmmakers and First Nations have partnered and spent that last few years in the bush on British Columbia’s central coast getting up close and personal with the famous wildlife of the region, such as stunning underwater scenes of jelly fish and grizzly bears at play.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a natural history wildlife production of this scale done here before,” Pacific Wild Co-Founder Ian McAllister told CTV News.

The multi-million dollar project hopes to raise awareness for the region and the endangered species within it.

The filmmakers even managed to capture the rare spirit bear or Kermode in IMAX format.

The white bears have a genetic variation that gives them their polar bear looks and can only be found in Western Canada.

“Every time you see them it’s a magical thing,” said Co-Director Jeff Turner. “They almost glow. It's really a unique and sort of rare thing to see a sort of white bear in this ancient dark green temperate rainforest.”

The film also hopes to educate people both old and young. The producers told CTV that many people around the world don’t know that Canada has a rainforest, let alone one of the largest left intact on the planet.

“There’s a lot of rare and unique attributes to this film that will amaze people around the world,” said McAllister.

The film is set to be released in 2019.

With files from CTV’s John Vennavally-Rao

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  Filmmakers have partnered with First Nations to provide an unprecedented look at one of B.C.'s most beautiful, raw regions: The Great Bear Rainforest. The film features grizzlies, wolves, whales and the famed Kermode or "spirit" bear, and will also focus on local First Nations and how they interact with the land. (Courtesy Pacific Wild)