May 10, 2019—MacGillivray Freeman Films and CNN Films are proud to announce the release
of Todd
Douglas Miller’s Apollo
11: First Steps Edition, an exclusive giant screen documentary
opening in select science centers and museum-based IMAX® and giant
screen theaters starting May 17, 2019.

Produced by Statement Pictures in partnership with CNN Films and distributed
by MacGillivray Freeman Films, Apollo
11: First Steps Edition is a special giant screen version of the
critically-acclaimed theatrical documentary Apollo 11 released earlier
this year. Apollo 11: First Steps Edition will open exclusively
in science centers and museum-based giant screen theaters as part of the
much-anticipated global celebration of the 50th anniversary of
NASA’s Apollo 11 mission—the first to put men on the Moon.

“The Apollo 11 mission was humanity’s greatest adventure and we’re pleased
to be bringing this edition to science centers and museums everywhere,” says
director Todd
Douglas Miller. “This film was designed to take full advantage
of the immersive quality of IMAX and giant screen theaters.”

“We aimed to honor the original Apollo 11 mission by creating a film event
that would capture the spectacle of this most extraordinary of human
achievements,” says Courtney Sexton, vice president of CNN Films. “Todd’s
ambitious Apollo 11: First Steps
Edition will thrill museum-goers with an incredible, unprecedented
experience.” Sexton and Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and
content development for CNN Worldwide, are both executive producers of the film.

Crafted from a newly-discovered trove of never-before-seen 70mm footage and
more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings, Apollo 11: First Steps Edition
puts audiences at the center of the historic lunar landing. Miller and his team
crafted Apollo 11: First Steps
Edition entirely from archival materials. As the team was working
closely with NASA and the National Archives (NARA) to locate all existing
Apollo 11 footage, NARA staff members made a startling discovery that changed
the course of the project: an unprocessed collection of 70mm large format
footage, never before seen by the public, containing stunning shots of the
launch, the inside of Mission Control, and recovery and post-mission
activities. The other unexpected find was a massive cache of audio recordings
that captured individual tracks from 60 key mission personnel throughout every
moment of the mission.

 

 

“With the incredible find of so much pristine, never-before-seen footage and
new audio recordings, our project evolved beyond filmmaking into one of film
curation and historic preservation,” said producer Thomas Petersen.
“This new material yielded remarkable new insights into key events of the
mission.”

“When Apollo 11: First Steps
Edition opens in museums and science centers around the globe
starting May 17, it will be the centerpiece of a vast series of celebratory
programs and activities leading up to the 50th anniversary of this
historic event,” said Shaun MacGillivray, President of MacGillivray Freeman
Films, which is distributing the film. “We cannot wait to see audiences
experience the thrill of walking on the Moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin and becoming a part of history as the world celebrates this greatest of
human accomplishments.”

Apollo 11: First Steps Edition is
a family-friendly film and runs 47 minutes. For more information, visit apollo11firststeps.com.

 

About
Statement Pictures

Statement Pictures LLC was formed in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY to produce
independent feature-length motion picture films and visual content. It is
co-owned by filmmakers Todd Douglas Miller and Thomas Petersen. The company’s
first feature film, Dinosaur 13, premiered on opening night at the
2014 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Lionsgate and CNN Films for
theatrical and broadcast exhibition, winning an Emmy® Award for Outstanding
Science and Technology Programming.

 

About CNN
Films

CNN Films produces and acquires documentary feature and short films for
theatrical and festival exhibition and distribution across CNN’s multiple
platforms. Amy
Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content
development, oversees the strategy for CNN Films; Courtney Sexton,
vice president for CNN Films, works day-to-day with filmmakers to oversee
projects. For more information about CNN Films, please visit www.CNN.com/CNNFilms and follow @CNNFilms via Twitter. CNN
Films previously collaborated with Todd Douglas Miller for its presentation of Dinosaur 13. Recent acclaimed CNN
Films include RBG,
directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; LOVE,GILDA, directed by Lisa D’Apolito; and Three Identical Strangers,
directed by Tim Wardle.

 

About
MacGillivray Freeman Films

MacGillivrayFreeman Films is the world’s foremost independent producer and distributor
of giant-screen 70mm films with more than 40 films for IMAX and 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 for The Living Sea and Dolphins and three films
inducted into the IMAX Hall of Fame, including Everest, the highest
grossing giant screen film of all time. 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 for
worldwide box office.

Source: MacGillivray Freeman Films