IMAX Victoria films showcase British Columbia wildlife

The Royal B.C. Museum has debuted a new directors’ cut of award-winning documentary Saving Luna, the story a young male orca that loses his family in Nootka Sound, on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island.

The film is making its IMAX screen debut, featuring new high-definition footage, surround sound and narration by Michael Parfit, all tuned specifically for IMAX Victoria – the largest movie screen in the province, according to a news release.

Through Luna’s determination to make friends with people, he sets in motion events that challenge our politics, science and spirit, and make us rethink our most fundamental ideas about the nature of love and friendship.

After winning 25 international film awards, Saving Luna caught the eye of actor Ryan Reynolds, who partnered with the filmmakers to make another version of the film, called The Whale, which Reynolds executive-produced and narrated.

“We are very excited to reveal this new enhanced version of Saving Luna on the giant screen,” said the film’s producer and co-director Dr. Suzanne Chisholm. “The immersive experience of IMAX Victoria is a great fit for this film, because both film and venue work together to transport you to a different time and place.”

The film arrives at IMAX Victoria just in time for the final run of the Royal B.C. Museum’s feature exhibition Orcas: Our Shared Future, which closes March 31.

Also revisiting the theatre is another film showcasing British Columbia wildlife, the Great Bear Rainforest, which Reynolds narrates.

READ MORE: Ryan Reynolds matching fundraising dollars for BC’s Great Bear Rainforest

During the 41-minute film, viewers journey to a land of grizzlies, coastal wolves, sea otters and the all-white spirit bear — the rarest bear on earth.

“Hidden from the outside world, the Great Bear Rainforest is one of the wildest places left on earth. Found on Canada’s remote Pacific coast, it is the last intact temperate rainforest in the world — a place protected by the region’s indigenous people for millennia.”

For more information about COVID-19 protocols, showtimes and tickets, visit the IMAX Victoria website.

Plan your adventures throughout the West Coast at westcoasttraveller.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @thewestcoasttraveller. And for the top West Coast Travel stories of the week delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our weekly Armchair Traveller newsletter!