The next time you attend an IMAX experience check the credits to see where the film was made.
There’s a good chance it was produced by Don Kempf’s Giant Screen Films/D3D Cinema, the only Chicago-based IMAX producing company, standing tall alongside the only other North American IMAX producers: National Geographic and another half-dozen players in California and Canada.
Ten years ago, Kempf, a former history teacher, founded Evanston-based Giant Screen Films (GSF) with his brother, Steve, “to produce educational documentaries that provide an enjoyable knowledge experience and inspire to seek additional knowledge,” Kempf says. In 2004, Steve Kempf moved to a strategic consulting role.
Since its inception, GSF has produced and distributed a diverse and growing collection of films, including a half-dozen of its own productions and a variety of third-party titles that have been seen by tens of millions of viewers in more than 35 countries worldwide.
Last year Kempf founded sister company, D3D Cinema, to further enhance the immersive film and museum exhibit experience of GSF films. So far, three of GSF’s 12 films have been converted from 15/70 IMAX 3D to digital 3D.
