The GSCA 2017 Achievement Awards were presented the evening of September 26, 2017, at the DoubleTree Magnificent Mile in Chicago during the GSCA 2017 International Conference and Trade Show. IMAX Corporation sponsored the evening and also presented its Maximum Image Awards during the ceremony. Congratulations to the award recipients. All photos by James Hyder of LF Examiner for GSCA.

George Casey

Outstanding Achievement Award

George Casey

George Casey, who died on June 3, 2017, at the age of 84, was recognized with the Outstanding Achievement Award. Sean Casey, himself a filmmaker, accepted the award on his father’s behalf.

George Casey, producer, director, and writer of some of the most beloved and enduring giant screen documentaries, was a pioneer in the industry and has left behind an inspiring and timeless body of work. A four-time Academy Award nominee, his film The Eruption of Mount St. Helens was the first giant screen film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award.

As a partner in Graphic Films, first with Les Novros and later with Les’s son, Paul, Mr. Casey was dedicated to making groundbreaking and thoroughly researched nature-based films with a firm foundation in science. He had a special affinity for filming volcanoes, first with The Eruption of Mount St. Helens, later with Ring of Fire, which took him 13 years to make, and Forces of Nature, which won Best Film at the GSCA Achievement Awards in 2005. With movies that encompassed locations and subject matters of great diversity and importance, he opened viewers’ eyes to new experiences and cutting-edge scientific subject matters using magnificent visuals, gripping stories, and eloquent narration, which made his films truly immersive and educational.

George Casey’s films include Forces of Nature, Amazing Journeys, Search for the Great Sharks, Africa: The Serengeti, Ring of Fire, Seasons, Great Barrier Reef, Genesis, and the Academy Award-nominated films Alaska: Spirit of the Wild, The Eruption of Mount St. Helens, Probes in Space, and Planet Ocean.

Just as significant as his work, however, was his benevolent and magnanimous character. As tributes poured in after his death, the words most frequently used to describe him were “kind,” “gentleman,” “artist,” “humble,” “passion,” and “integrity.”

Sean Casey accepted the award on behalf of his father

“George embodied all that is right with the giant screen industry, not only in his films, but in his commitment to taking people where they could not go otherwise,” says GSCA Chair Gordon Stalans, Vice President-CFO, CIO, of the Tennessee Aquarium. “His tenacity to see a film project through to its completion continues to be legendary. But even more legendary was the way he treated people. When I think of George, I think about the kindness, generosity, and respect he showed all those he came in contact with.”

Mike Day, Executive Vice President at the Science Museum of Minnesota and a giant screen film executive producer, worked closely with Mr. Casey on a number of films, including Ring of Fire. In a tribute published shortly after Mr. Casey’s death, Day wrote, “George Casey was mightily dedicated to his craft, a warrior capturing in the world’s largest film format worldwide phenomena and events that audiences would never have the chance to otherwise experience in their lifetimes. He was enormously loyal to his crews, steadfast in his determination to get the shot, and as calm and witty a traveling companion as one would ever hope for. And, along with the images he labored to capture were the wonderful minimalist expressions he brought to a script. One of my favorites from the film Seasons was the sequence of summer trees transitioning to fall colors with the line, ‘leaves–disposable gatherers of sunlight.’”

BFI IMAX, London

Best IMAX Booth

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Filmstaden, Scandinavia and IMAX, Stockholm, Sweden

Best IMAX Booth

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