News Release

Filming Underway for Brand USA’s Second Giant Screen Film: America’s Treasures

Brand USA Again Targets Global Travel Markets

WASHINGTON, DC – Brand USA, the nation’s destination marketing organization, and MacGillivray Freeman Films are joining forces once again with global presenting sponsor, Expedia, Inc. to produce America’s Treasures (working title), the second giant-screen film promoting the United States as a premier travel destination.

Filming already is underway for America’s Treasures (working title), which comes on the heels of Brand USA’s award-winning documentary film of 2016, National Parks Adventure – another MacGillivray Freeman 3D film for IMAX® and giant-screen theatres that featured the national parks, one of the country’s most treasured assets, and celebrated the centennial anniversary of the National Parks Service. Academy Award and Golden Globe Winning Actor Robert Redford narrated National Parks Adventure.

“National Parks Adventure was part of an overarching marketing effort focusing on the great outdoors as an effort to drive international visitation to the USA,” said Christopher L. Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA. “The results have exceeded our expectations. In fact, 81 percent of international viewers of the film said they are much more likely or somewhat more likely to visit the USA as a result of watching the film and 62 percent said they are more likely to visit the USA instead of another destination as a result of watching the film. It’s based on that success that we are launching our next giant-screen film initiative.”

“After taking global audiences to our treasured wild places in National Parks Adventure last year, we are thrilled to bring America’s cultural and musical treasures to the giant screen,” said Shaun MacGillivray, President of MacGillivray Freeman Films.  “America’s Treasures uses the immersive visual experience of the giant-screen format to explore our nation’s rich musical heritage and tell the story of America’s diverse cultural innovations in a new and powerful way.”

America’s Treasures (working title) celebrates the unique diversity of American culture and the risk-taking spirit that characterize the USA, as experienced through the lens of music. The film follows singer/songwriter Aloe Blacc as he explores some of America’s iconic cultural cities and traces jazz legend Louis Armstrong’s footsteps through the colorful locales where America’s music was born.  Audiences will be immersed in the sights and sounds of New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Nashville, Miami Beach and more as we meet the visionaries, artists, music makers and innovators who are shaping America’s culture today.

 The new film hopes to repeat the tremendous success of National Parks Adventure, an action-packed adventure that became the highest-grossing documentary film in the world in 2016. The film took viewers on a spectacular journey to some of America’s most legendary outdoor experiences, including Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park and Yosemite. The film’s release was the industry’s fastest giant-screen roll-out in five years, with 48 exhibitions in six countries in February 2016 and 119 exhibitions in 16 countries within the first 12 months.

The PR campaign for the National Parks Adventure garnered more than 4,000 pieces of earned media, with over 7 billion global media impressions. The film is expected to reach well over 4 million people internationally (10 million including the USA) in the first 24 months and to exceed $44 million in media reach outside of the USA. In addition, the film garnered multiple awards, including the Giant Screen Cinema Association’s Best Film of 2016 in the Short Subject category as well as achievement awards for best cinematography, sound design, original score, best marketing campaign by a distributor and best film launch by a theater.

The giant screen platform remains the perfect venue to help reach a wide global audience. An estimated 70 million people see a film in IMAX® theatres each year in 744 theatres located in 52 countries worldwide. Over 50 percent of attendance is international, with the number of theaters rapidly expanding in emerging markets such as China, Brazil and Mexico

America’s Treasures (working title) currently is in production, with a world premiere scheduled for February 2018.

About MacGillivray Freeman Films

MacGillivray Freeman Films is the world’s foremost independent producer and distributor of giant-screen 70mm films with 40 films for IMAX® and other giant-screen theatres to its credit. Throughout the company’s 50-year history, its films have won numerous international awards including two Academy Award® nominations and three films inducted into the IMAX® Hall of Fame. MacGillivray Freeman’s films are known for their artistry and celebration of science and the natural world. It is the first documentary film company to reach the one billion dollar benchmark in worldwide ticket sales.

For more information about the company, visit www.macgillivrayfreemanfilms.com.

 

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About Brand USA

Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, was established by the Travel Promotion Act as the nation’s first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. travel policies and procedures to worldwide travelers. The organization’s mission is to increase international visitation to the United States in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the United States worldwide. Formed as the Corporation for Travel Promotion in 2010, the public-private entity began operations in May 2011 and does business as Brand USA. According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past ten years Brand USA's marketing initiatives have helped welcome 8 million incremental visitors to the United States, benefiting the U.S. economy with more than $58 billion in total economic impact and supporting, on average, more than 37,000 incremental jobs a year.

For industry or partner information about Brand USA, visit TheBrandUSA.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter. To discover more about the USA and the boundless diversity of American travel experiences and authentic, rich culture, please visit Brand USA's consumer website VisitTheUSA.com; follow Visit The USA on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram; and watch travel shows on GoUSATV.