Salutes to the miraculous achievements of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are pouring in from world wide.
The subtle observatory marks its one-year anniversary this summer as a groundbreaking astronomical platform orbiting the sun some 1 million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth. Joining the celebration with a brand new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) documentary is “Deep Sky,” a passion project uniting the IMAX Corporation with Crazy Boat Pictures Ltd. and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
News of the 40-minute film’s completion was announced this past week during events recognizing the telescope’s “first image” anniversary on the National Academy of Science in Washington, D.C.
Related: See amazing images from James Webb Space Telescope’s 1st yr gazing deep into the cosmos (photos)
Golden Globe winner Michelle Williams narrates the cinematic salute to the James Webb, which is scheduled to light up across IMAX’s institutional theater network sometime in October of 2023.
“I’ve all the time been fascinated by the wonder and magnitude of space,” said Williams in an IMAX statement. “I’m excited to work with Nathaniel and IMAX to inform the story of the charming images taken by this latest telescope.”
“Deep Sky” was penned, produced and directed by Nathaniel Kahn with Bonnie Hlinomaz acting as co-producer. John Turner serves as Executive Producer for IMAX, the worldwide entertainment giant that has aligned itself here with financing partner Northrop Grumman Foundation, in cooperation with NASA, ESA, CSA, the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.
“‘Deep Sky’ represents an exciting return to form for IMAX Documentaries and our long tradition of immersive space movies,” said John Turner, Head of Documentaries for IMAX, in an official press release. “Nathaniel Kahn’s Oscar-nominated documentary ‘My Architect’ is iconic and his Emmy-winning ‘The Hunt for Planet B’ served because the fascinating first step in telling the story of the individuals who built this telescope. Now we get to see the breathtaking images dropped at life in a way that nobody has ever seen before.”
This inspiring documentary explores the $10 billion JWST’s engineering and construction process, historic Dec. 25, 2021 launch, and the discharge of its first full-color, galaxy-sprinkled images on July 12, 2022 witnessed by the complete planet.
“If there ever was a subject tailor-made for IMAX screens, that is it,” said director Nathaniel Kahn. “The IMAX format permits you to appreciate the astonishing resolution of NASA’s latest telescope and to immerse yourself in cosmic landscapes that leave you crammed with awe.”
“Deep Sky” will appear in all its large-format IMAX glory in October 2023.