The
remarkable giant-screen film by National Geographic
and Tim Liversedge Productions poignantly weaves
together the day-to-day life of lions with the
suspense of rivalry. Here, one of the largest
lions to walk the arid lands of the Kalahari – a
10-foot-long giant – reigns with his lionesses
and cubs. A nomad comes to claim the territory
for his own, gradually encroaching until an ultimate
battle between the two determines the fate of
all.
An
epic story of power and dominance, success and
failure, Roar was filmed in
the stark expanse of Botswana’s Kalahari
Desert. Filmmaker Tim Liversedge’s 40 years
of experience in the region allowed unparalleled
detail of the natural behavior of lions, their
prey, and the incredible profusion of life congregated
at the only water source within a 100 mile radius.
Balancing suspense and action with insightful
information, Liversedge delivers a passionate
film that will thrill audiences worldwide.
“Roar:
Lions of the Kalahari speaks to the
core of what National Geographic is all about.
It’s a compelling story with breathtaking
images of animal behavior never before seen
on the giant screen,” said Lisa Truitt,
executive producer, National Geographic Television
and Film. After over 18 months of producing
and shooting the film in the wild, Liversedge
partnered with National Geographic to undertake
the complex digital post-production. “We
had an incredible team of talented people who
collaborated to make this film exceptional,” said
Truitt.
Roar is
set around an isolated water hole teaming with
wildlife. Powerful, close-up images and a complex
sound design put the audience right there at
the site. Zebra herds trot by close enough to
touch. An elephant trumpets thunderously from
the screen. A soaring flight is taken over vast
and harsh landscapes. “My aim was to give
audiences the experience of what it is like to
be gazing up at the star-filled night skies over
the Kalahari, to have the thrill of hearing two
lions engaged in a roaring duel, or to sit at
the edge of a water hole a few feet from elephants
bathing in the moonlight,” said Liversedge.
The
filmmaker, in his first large-format film, has
masterfully used the magic of the giant screen
to tell his story. “Tim is alone in his
ability to capture this particular story so beautifully.
His is an incredible talent,” said Truitt.
Through
relentless dust storms and in surface temperatures
that soared to 130°F, “filming Roar was
one of the most challenging and exciting times
of my life,” Liversedge said. “The
lions were so close at times that they brushed
my tripod and used me and my camera to hide behind
and try to get closer to their prey.”
The
result is unparalleled film footage of one of
the most charismatic animals on earth. “Perhaps
the most spectacular shot I got was captured
when a springbok leapt 10 feet straight up into
the air to be brought down by a lioness right
in front of my camera. They both crashed to the
ground in front of me.”
Roar
also technically breaks new ground. The first
giant-screen film to be created with a fully
digital intermediate, each of its 60,000 frames
was scanned to seamlessly blend film formats.
Using different formats allowed Liversedge to
capture scenarios from rapidly changing action,
to very slow motion, to wide, crisp shots.
Roar:
Lions of the Kalahari is a production
of National Geographic Television and Film
(NGT&F) and Tim Liversedge. Destination
Cinema, Inc. is the distributor. Tim Liversedge
is the director, principle cinematographer
and executive producer. Lisa Truitt and Tim
Kelly are executive producers. June Liversedge
and Jini Durr are producers. Eleanor Grant
is the writer. Richard Jones is also a cinematographer.
Music is composed by James S. Levine. Editors
are Lori Petersen Waite and Mark Fletcher.
National
Geographic Television and Film (NGT&F) is
a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Geographic
Ventures,which also manages National Geographic’s
interactive, online and merchandising, travel
expedition and related businesses. NGT&F
augments its award-winning documentaries (119
Emmy Awards and over 800 other industry awards)
with feature films, long-form television dramas
and two giant-screen films: Mysteries of Egypt
(1998) and Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West
(2002). The National Geographic Channel is received
by more than 200 million households in 146 countries,
including the United States. More information
is available at www.nationalgeographic.com.
Renowned
as a filmmaker and one of Botswana’s most
respected naturalists, Tim Liversedge has worked
with animals, art and wildlife photography for
over 40 years. He started his own production
company, Tim Liversedge Productions, in 1987.
Winner of both a Golden Panda (the most prestigious
award of wildlife film-making) and an Emmy, his
credits include 17 acclaimed wildlife films for
PBS USA, Turner Broadcasting, the Discovery Channel,
National Geographic TV, the BBC, NHK Japan, the
Botswana Government, Germany, France, Italy and
many other countries. His syndicated films are
seen by millions of viewers worldwide.
Destination
Cinema, Inc. owns and operates giant-screen theaters
in tourist locations throughout North America,
having pioneered the destination film and theater
concept in 1984. One of the most prolific and
successful producers of giant-screen films, the
company owns a film library specializing in destination
topics and distributes giant-screen films to
theaters throughout the world.
Film
schedule:
Monday – Friday:
Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West – 10:30
am
Forces of Nature – 11:30 am, 2:30
pm, 4:30 pm
A Rainforest Adventure: Bugs! in 3D – 12:30pm
Roar: Lions of the Kalahari – 1:30 & 3:30
pm
Saturday & Sunday:
Forces of Nature – 10:30 am, 1:30
pm, 3:30 pm & 5:30 pm
Roar: Lions of the Kalahari – 11:30
am, 2:30 pm & 4:30 pm
A Rainforest Adventure: Bugs! in 3D – 12:30
pm
