Dear Friends,

This month, we celebrate Greg MacGillivray on his 80^th birthday. In a career spanning more than six decades, Greg has created an impressive body of work that celebrates our beautiful planet. Filming around the world, with IMAX cameras, his work has screened in large theaters, museums and cultural centers around the world. He has given millions of viewers the experience of swimming with dolphins, climbing Mount Everest, and exploring the Great Barrier Reef.



Greg MacGillivray - 1966 (photo courtesy of Diving Pioneers and Innovators)

Greg cut his filmmaking teeth making surf films in his teens. Later, as a college student at UC Santa Barbara, he met fellow filmmaker Jim Freeman, who was showing the first ever 3-D surf film. Freeman, who was a master of technology, helped Greg make his next film and taught him techniques to make films more impactful. They formed MacGillivray Freeman Films in 1966. 

Their goal was to amaze their audience. They produced documentaries and commercials, but their eyes were on the bigger picture — the oversized IMAX screen. In 1976, just days before the premiere of their first IMAX film To Fly!, Freeman was killed in a helicopter crash. As a tribute to his friend and partner, Greg kept the company name MacGillivray Freeman Films.

Greg and Barbara MacGillivray

Greg and his wife Barbara met in the ninth grade at Newport Harbor High School. She was his lab partner and helped sell tickets to his first surf film. They've been partners ever since.

Their son Shaun and daughter Meghan grew up making IMAX films with their parents. Today, both are successful filmmakers in their own right. Shaun is a director and producer; Meghan is a producer.

Meghan, Greg, Barbara and Shaun MacGillivray

Together, the MacGillivrays have made 60 films, 40 of which are in the IMAX format. Two were nominated for Academy Awards. In 2024, MY HERO recognized MacGillivlray Freeman Films with the Global Educator Award for the film The Superhuman Body, which was co-directed by Greg and Shaun.

Greg and Barbara have been active supporters of their Laguna Beach community. Locally, they support the Coast Film Festival and the MY HERO International Film Festival. They frequently provide free screenings of their feature films to the Laguna community at the Rivian South Coast Theater.

They have also founded the nonprofit MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation, with a mission to educate and inspire the public through educational, call-to-action programming shown on large, IMAX screens. They have provided tickets and transportation so that more than 20,000 underserved students could see their films in IMAX theaters.

Their One World One Ocean Campaign sponsors the annual MY HERO Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award to recognize the work of student and professional filmmakers who shine a light on ocean heroes. The Earle award is given annually as part of the MY HERO International Film Festival and is presented each year on World Oceans Day - June 8th.

Screenshot from Earle Award Winner

Mr Whale, Cheikh Seck and Khalil Ba from Senegal

Learn more about the MacGillivray family's adventures in Greg's memoir Five Hundred Summer Stories, available through the MacGillivray Freeman website.

Here are a few of more than 60 films produced by Greg MacGillivray. A complete list can be found on the MacGillivray Freeman Films website.

Secrets of the Seas

Everest

Call of the Dolphins

Cities of the Future

Ireland

Ancient Caves

To learn more about Greg MacGillivray and his adventures, visit the MacGillivray Freeman website and subscribe to their Inspire Friday newsletter for a weekly dose of fascinating history and inspiring stories.

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