MacGillivray Freeman Films


MacGillivray Freeman Films is an American film studio based in Laguna Beach, California and founded in the mid-1960s by Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman. It produces documentaries, feature films, and IMAX films.

History

Founding

MacGillivray Freeman Films was established in 1963 in Laguna Beach, California by Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman. Greg MacGillivray began making films when he was 13 and later partnered with best friend Jim Freeman to form MacGillivray Freeman Films. In 1966, the two dropped out of college to make a film in South America after the success of one of their first surfing documentaries, Free & Easy.
MacGillivray has produced and directed more than 40 IMAX films. He has also developed three cameras that work with the format: a high-speed model, a lightweight model and the “all-weather” camera he used while filming on Mt. Everest.

1960's-70's Surfing Documentaries and Adventure Sport Films

MacGillivray and Freeman were only 19 when he released the cult surf movie Free and Easy. The film recouped production costs after only ten screenings and MacGillivray and Freeman were inspired to drop out of college and make movies full-time.
In the ensuing years, MacGillivray and Freeman produced a series of documentaries about surfing and skateboarding, developing what at the time was a completely new cinematic perspective for the genre: putting the viewer in the middle of the action with board-mounted cameras.
Founding partner Jim Freeman was killed in a helicopter crash in 1976, two days before the release of To Fly!

Films

Documentaries and other films

Prior to producing IMAX films, the company produced surfing documentaries, TV commercials and filming for Hollywood feature films.
In 1976, it produced Magic Rolling Board, a 10-minute documentary about skateboarding. The company has directed and photographed for Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount and Stanley Kubrick. Cinematographer Jonathan Livingston Seagull was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Photography in 1974.The Towering Inferno received the Academy Award for Best Photography in 1975.

IMAX films

Most well known for its IMAX films, the studio has produced and distributed 35 IMAX films since 1974. Its first IMAX film To Fly!, produced for the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum, was later selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry.
Two of its films, Dolphins and The Living Sea, were nominated for Academy Awards. Its film Everest appeared Variety's Top 10 Box Office chart for North America.
The company's films have been received nominations and won awards from the Giant Screen Cinema Association.

Filmography

Below is a list of films and television commercials produced and/or distributed MacGillivray Freeman Films.
TitleRelease DateRuntimeFormatNotes
Let There Be Surf1963n/aFilmed in 16mmJim Freeman's first commercial film.
Outside the Third Dimension1964n/aFilmed in 16mmProduced and directed by Jim Freeman.
A film about Hawaiian surfing photographed and released in 3D.
A Cool Wave of Summer1964n/aFilmed in 16mmGreg MacGillivray's first commercial film.
An avant-guard film about surfing in California.
The Glass Wall1965n/aFilmed in 16mmProduced and distributed by Jim Freeman.
The Performers1965n/aFilmed in 35mmProduced and directed by Greg MacGillivray.
A study of three Californians who find surf and adventure in Hawaii, Mexico and Florida.
Moods of Surfing196815 minutesFilmed in 35mmShort Film for Theatrical Release by United Artists.
Television Commercials1969n/an/a
Catch the Joy196915 minutesFilmed in 35mmAn aesthetic look at the sport of Dune Buggy-ing by United Artists.
Waves of Change1969n/aFilmed in 35mm
Television Commercials1970n/an/a
  • Holiday Inns of America
  • Frosty Root Beer
  • Carnation
    • Sentinels of Silence197028 minutesFilmed in 35mmNarrated by Orson Welles.Photographed by Jim Freeman.
    Ski Movie One1970n/an/aProduced with Summit Films
    Five Summer Stories1972n/an/a
    To Fly!197627 minutesFilmed in 70mmThe premiere film for the Theater of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
    The Living Sea199540 minutesFilmed in 70mm
    Dolphins200039 minutesFilmed in 70mm
    To The Arctic201240 minutesFilmed in 70mmA close up look at Arctic wildlife
    Journey to the South Pacific201340 minutesFilmed in 70mmA film about marine conservation in Indonesia
    Humpback Whales201540 minutesFilmed in 70mmA film about the resurgence of Humpback whales
    National Parks Adventure201643 minutesFilmed in 70mmA celebration of the 100 year anniversary of the US National Park Service
    Dream Big: Engineering Our World201742 minutesFilmed in 70mmPioneers of engineering and man-made wonders
    We, The Marines201737 minutesFilmed in 70mmLarge format documentary made for permanent exhibit at the National Museum of the Marine Corps
    America's Musical Journey201840 minutesFilmed in 70mmExploring the roots of America's music

    Conservation

    MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation

    In 2004, Greg MacGillivray and his wife Barbara founded the non-profit MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation to contribute to the conservation of the world's natural and cultural heritage through giant screen films and companion educational programming.

    One World One Ocean Campaign

    MacGillivray Freeman established the One World One Ocean campaign, which along with other organizations, was featured in Laguna Beach Eco Heroes, a 30-minute documentary by The My Hero Project. The efforts of the Crystal Cove Alliance, ECO Warrior, Laguna Bluebelt, Laguna Canyon Foundation, Nancy Caruso, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Wyland, and Zero Trash Laguna were also highlighted in the documentary.