All that glisters is gold in new Imax film — Canadian production spans globe exploring allure of yellow metal

An Imax film that will have its world premier this month at Science North, in Sudbury, Ont., explores the cultural, economic and historical significance the yellow metal has played in societies throughout the world.

The US$5.6-million giant-screen movie, titled Gold Fever, was shot over two years throughout the world, in locales as familiar as the Yukon and northern Ontario and as exotic as India, Thailand and Africa.

“We traveled to many cultures where gold is an important part of the economy,” says director David Lickley. “In India for example, a farmer will purchase gold bangles for his wife after a good harvest. These bangles are worn as a status symbol and as insurance against a bad year, in which case the bangles are sold.”

The Canadian production does not just portray gold as an object of worship or value, but also examines the processes by which it is pulled from the ground. With the permission of Barrick Gold and Placer Dome, two of the film’s backers (other supporters included Homestake Mining, Franco-Nevada Mining and Euro-Nevada Mining), crews filmed the dirty work involved in its production. Lickley and his crew traveled underground at Barrick’s Holt-McDermott mine, as well as to the combined underground and open-pit operation of Placer’s namesake mine in Timmins.

At the Placer mine, Lickley fixed a camera to the elevator in the shaft to film its rapid plunge. “Imax is a feeling medium, so we knew people would actually feel the sensation of a shaft drop,” he says.

The film also captures the more exotic uses of gold, including: a celebration of the Ashanti tribe in Ghana in which the chief’s adornments are 22-carat gold; The Golden Temple of Amristar in India, which is sheathed in 100 tons of gold; and the 60-ft.-long Reclining Bhudda of Thailand.

Imax stands for “maximum image” and is a Canadian invention. The film frame is 15 perforations/70 mm — 10 times larger than a conventional 35-mm frame and three times larger than a standard 70-mm frame. The Imax image fills the viewer’s field of vision, giving a feeling of being totally immersed in the film.