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♪♪

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-Harbor Island to me represents
opportunity.

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- An empty Seattle space
turns into movie magic.

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But survival isn't easy.

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- Bruce Lee has earned this special tribute.

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- A forever stamp gives martial arts
legend Bruce Lee a lasting home.

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- As you know,
this is a beloved local movie.

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- Fans cheer the return of a beloved theater
rooted in a historic past.

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These stories
and more next on City Stream.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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- Hi, I'm Geena Pietromonaco.

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Welcome to City Stream from the PACCAR
IMAX Theater.

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♪♪

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Located at Seattle Center's
Pacific Science Center.

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This theater features a massive
three-story screen

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for eager moviegoers.

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♪♪

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Originally built for the Seattle World's
Fair and part of the U.S.

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Science Pavilion, the space showcased
a film called the House of Science.

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This is about what scientists look like.

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The presentation used an innovative system
synchronizing six projectors

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to create a 12-minute immersive experience
that introduced visitors

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to the exhibits at the pavilion.

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In 1979,
the space was transformed into a full IMAX

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theater,
primarily screening documentary films.

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By 2011,
it transitioned to digital projection,

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expanding its offerings to include
both feature films and IMAX documentaries.

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And decades later,
another Seattle landmark

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would be reimagined, this time
not for audiences but for the filmmakers.

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In 2021, a vacant mill was transformed
into Harbor Island Studios.

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The studio has created thousands of jobs
in the region, provided

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opportunities for local filmmakers
and attracting major studios.

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But it hasn't been
without its difficulties.

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Recently, King County

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held a vote to defund the studio
and potentially cut productions.

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Producer Drew Highlands
has more. Lights, camera, action.

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♪♪

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Harbor Island

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Studios is a creative hub
for everyone in the region

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who wants a place to create films,
tell their stories,

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make their commercial content,
get some work experience on a film crew.

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It is many things.

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- Built in 1911.

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This mill stands as a monument
to the faith

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that its founders placed in the northwest
as an industrial center.

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- So we've known for a very long time
that the film industry

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was lacking the infrastructure.

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It needed to be a full-blown
film industry, that we had to have

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a production facility
in order for filmmakers and film crews

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to be able to work, and for us to be able
to land the kinds of films

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and the kinds of productions
that we would like to have in this region.

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- Kate and I, we come down to this building

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and we walk into the front of it.

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We continued walking back,
and we couldn't believe

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that it was 117,000 square feet of building.

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And what was really interesting
was this sparked

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an idea that has not stopped since.

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- You know, we don't want to have to watch

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any more films about Seattle
when we recognize the streets

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on screen being Vancouver or Portland.

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- We went to Dow Constantine.

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We could

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literally have not done this without him
and the support of the county council.

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- Harbor Island, to me, it

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represents opportunity and growth.

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I could come and shoot something
the way that I would,

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and all these other places that
I've had to travel to to work in the past.

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I've worked in cities
all over the US and Canada and,

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all of them have some version of this.
- Harbor Island

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really put the region back on the map as a

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as a premier film
making city, region, area.

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And, and then Seattle
had to do something as well.

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And that paved the way
for the success of the Seattle

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Film Commission establishment.
-For many years

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you know, when I would talk to producers
or investors

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that I try to bring to Seattle,

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they would complain that Seattle
doesn't have an actual soundstage.

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We now have a place
to shoot movies on a large scale,

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which is a game changer for Seattle.

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We really focus on do we have the capacity
to help big productions,

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and do we have open doors
for the aspiring filmmakers in our region?

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- It brings in jobs, whether it's commercial
narrative, television, film. - I feel like

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it has this huge benefit
to local productions because it provides

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all of this opportunity
for people to work,

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and that's really all
anyone wants to do is just be working.

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(audience cheering and clapping)

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- Have some of my famous lemonade.

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- I'd like to welcome you to the November
18th, 2025

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meeting of the King
County Council. - The King County Council,

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and made a decision
to cut funding for Harbor Island Studios.

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And they decided that they were going
to make a decision within 24 hours.

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- I was shocked and heartbroken.

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To be quite honest, and I cried.

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- It just feels like
the rug was being sort of yanked out.

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- Finding out on short notice that the King
County Council was not planning

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to fund Harbor Island Studios
before January 1st was really a shock.

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And so then seeing within 24 hours
the film community rally to go

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tell the King County Council why it was
so important to preserve this space.

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Oh, be still my heart.

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- Raise your hand
if you work in film, please.

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- In Harbor Island,
Harbor Island Studios has provided

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2,334 unique industry jobs

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since opening in 2021 - At a pivotal moment
in our creative growth.

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My team,
when we were ready to build a major set

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and expand our production capacity
and bring more artists into the fold.

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Harbor Island became our blank canvas.

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- I was really just impressed

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by the people that came together
and just moved to fight for their dreams.

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- It was really inspiring to be
one of the people who went down to King

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County Courthouse and watched
the testimony of the community,

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who all came out on
no notice to just talk about

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how important this place is to them
and to the community.

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- I was sitting right here
watching every bit of testimony,

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and I just could
hardly believe my eyes and my ears

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because there was our film community
in lifetime, educating our council

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about the reality of what happens here.

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And they won them off.

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So now we do need to work on a new model
to sustain this place.

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- The vote would have gone very different
had we not all

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rallied and showed shown up,
and that was reassuring.

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And what that tells me
is that we need to continue

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to use our voices and to tell our stories.

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- It's probably going to be an uphill battle
to figure out how to make it work

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in a sort of a long term way,
but it does make sense to me that

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the county should continue
to support this space,

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because it is going to be a revenue
generator.

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- Show everyone you know, what happens here
at Harbor Island Studios.

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That was what was apparent
when we spoke to the council members.

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They didn't know
what was going on down here.

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They didn't know that people
whose livelihoods was at stake,

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that people's dreams were coming true
here, that productions were happening.

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That could not happen anywhere else.

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This place offers
something special that most other places,

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if not in another place, offers there.

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- There is a vibe that this studio has
that is pure heart and soul.

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The county has gotten this off the ground
and given us five years in this space,

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and now we need to carve a model out
that make sure this is here

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for the future, for the film community.

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- With the increase

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in productions
at Harbor Island Studios, a decision

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to continue funding will soon be made
by the King County Council.

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To learn more about how you can get
involved in Seattle's film community.

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Visit HarborIslandStudios.com

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We'll be right back.

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Next ahead on City Stream, a forever

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stamp gets a forever
martial arts and movie legend Bruce Lee.

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- We are the everyday storytellers
of this great city.

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We are Seattle Channel, a

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gateway to everything Seattle.

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The intersection between government,
culture, news

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and the ever unfolding story of the city
we call home.

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So follow your curiosity and come explore

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Seattle with us.

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Seattle Channel.

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♪♪

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For our next story,
Bruce Lee, the renowned Chinese American

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martial artist and actor,
has been honored with a new forever stamp.

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The United States
Postal Service is recognizing Lee,

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whose skill and screen presence
captivated film audiences for decades.

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Producer Pete Cassam shows us more.

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[♪♪ lion dance drumming ♪♪​]

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- An important goal of the Postal Service’s stamp program

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 is to honor the people, places

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and things that represent
the very best of our nation.

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♪♪​ Oh, say can you see ♪♪​

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♪♪​ by the dawn's early light. ♪♪​

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- Each step is a small work of art

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that has elements of the monumental

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which connect us to the larger
story of our nation.

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♪♪​ Whose broad stripes and bright stars ♪♪​

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♪♪​ through the perilous fight. ♪♪​

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- Bruce Lee has earned this special tribute.

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- The amazing stamp artist,

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Kam Mak

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Kam, where are you?

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[clapping]

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- For a long time,

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I always wondered why
there is not a Bruce Lee stamp.

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And then I got a call...

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[cheering and clapping]

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I, of course, said immediately, yes!

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Yeah, yeah.

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I painted it. It’s not a photograph.

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- He wasn't just an action film star who could fight.

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He was a philosopher who could think
and a teacher who inspired millions.

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[ambient sound]

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- I love everything about Bruce Lee.

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Everything about him.

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I love the way he made me feel
when I was a kid.

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Being bullied

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as a little kid in elementary school.

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It empowered me.

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I wasn't bullied anymore after that.

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-You know, the flying kick comes from
the movie: The Big Boss.

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And it was the most difficult job I ever did
because because he is very famous

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and everybody had an idea
of what he's supposed to look like.

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So. Yeah.

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-My father wrote many letters.

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 It's how he communicated with his friends

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when he was overseas, with his family,
when he was away from his family.

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So, I think it is just really fitting

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that he is on a postage stamp

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because he was a connector of people.

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He brought cultures together.

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-It’s amazing, amazing!

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-The way he moved,

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the way he fought, the way he spoke,

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the way he looked at you,

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and you still feel his presence

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urging you to cultivate yourself.

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♪♪​ And the home ♪♪​

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♪♪​ of the brave. ♪♪​

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[clapping and cheering]

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- The stamps bold yellow

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brushstroke is a nod to Bruce's
iconic look in the film Game of Death.

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Here in Seattle, where Lee's roots
run deep, his tribute continues.

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A new commemorative piece is on the way.

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A Bruce Lee statue will soon
be unveiled in the Hing Hay Park.

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We'll be right back.

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Just ahead,
we take a look at IMAX technology,

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then rewind to the history
of a beloved downtown

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Seattle theater.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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We return from the PACCAR

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IMAX Theater at Seattle Center's
Pacific Science Center.

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People often wonder, what exactly is IMAX?

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Short for Image Maximum,
the format was developed in the late 1960s

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by Canadian filmmakers looking to simplify
and elevate large-format cinema.

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Debuting in Japan in 1970, the massive

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high-resolution
image immediately made an impression.

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Through the ‘70s and ’80s,
IMAX found a home in museums

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and science centers
playing educational films.

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By the ‘90s and 2000,
it made the leap into commercial

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theaters, with filmmakers like Christopher

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Nolan helping
bring IMAX into the blockbuster era.

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Lead projectionist
David Dukart takes us inside the projection

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booth with a behind-the-scenes
look at how the technology works.

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- Hello, I'm David, and welcome to the PACCAR IMAX Theater's projection booth.

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So here we have our amp system
that basically powers our,

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5.1-channel surround
sound inside of the PACCAR Theater itself.

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00:15:01,033 --> 00:15:04,036
There are four amps on this side
and then two amps on this side.

244
00:15:04,036 --> 00:15:06,038
We have a dual projection system.

245
00:15:06,038 --> 00:15:10,009
Each one of these contains a lamp
that is 6.5 kW.

246
00:15:10,542 --> 00:15:14,146
So when we play a digital movie,
we get hard drives from IMAX.

247
00:15:15,514 --> 00:15:17,850
You can see we got The Revenant here.

248
00:15:17,850 --> 00:15:19,451
This is the SMS.

249
00:15:19,451 --> 00:15:23,689
It is essentially the control center
for the entirety of the IMAX system.

250
00:15:24,156 --> 00:15:28,427
It tells it to use play, to pause, to stop
what volume it should be at.

251
00:15:28,694 --> 00:15:31,363
This is our old IMAX film system.

252
00:15:31,363 --> 00:15:33,265
Essentially as opposed to the SMS.

253
00:15:33,265 --> 00:15:35,734
Everything was controlled right here.

254
00:15:35,734 --> 00:15:37,202
We get this all turned on.

255
00:15:37,202 --> 00:15:40,572
Once it was time for the show, we'd press
projector run.

256
00:15:41,173 --> 00:15:42,708
We tell it was up to speed,

257
00:15:42,708 --> 00:15:45,678
open the douser
to let it run for the length of the movie.

258
00:15:45,678 --> 00:15:51,050
So here we have examples of our IMAX film
that we still keep on sites.

259
00:15:51,684 --> 00:15:53,786
This one for in particular
is Greece.

260
00:15:53,786 --> 00:15:55,587
It was the last film
that we ran

261
00:15:55,587 --> 00:15:58,057
when we had the Pompeii
visiting exhibit.

262
00:15:58,057 --> 00:15:59,892
And this
unit is called The Brave

263
00:16:02,294 --> 00:16:03,262
because they're
supposed to make sure

264
00:16:03,262 --> 00:16:04,830
that the Platters
are running

265
00:16:04,830 --> 00:16:07,766
at a consistent speed
because this up.

266
00:16:07,766 --> 00:16:10,769
And then we would take
this over,

267
00:16:11,870 --> 00:16:14,873
run running through
all of these reels.

268
00:16:17,776 --> 00:16:19,578
So standard
35 millimeter film

269
00:16:19,578 --> 00:16:21,947
is about the size
of your thumb, roughly.

270
00:16:21,947 --> 00:16:23,282
And then IMAX film,

271
00:16:23,282 --> 00:16:25,517
a single frame is about
the size of your palm.

272
00:16:25,517 --> 00:16:28,153
So going back to the film
itself,

273
00:16:28,153 --> 00:16:29,855
this may look like
a lot of film.

274
00:16:29,855 --> 00:16:30,889
It is a lot of film.

275
00:16:30,889 --> 00:16:33,892
This is only about 40
minutes worth of IMAX film.

276
00:16:34,059 --> 00:16:37,429
The IMAX quality as far
as image goes, is bar none.

277
00:16:37,463 --> 00:16:39,665
I love it
more than anything

278
00:16:39,665 --> 00:16:41,633
I have ever seen on screen.

279
00:16:41,633 --> 00:16:44,103
♪♪

280
00:16:46,105 --> 00:16:47,773
♪♪

281
00:16:47,773 --> 00:16:52,745
-Seattle Channel--2025 Northwest
Regional Emmy Recipient

282
00:16:52,745 --> 00:16:55,748
for Overall Excellence.

283
00:16:57,649 --> 00:17:00,586
♪♪

284
00:17:03,389 --> 00:17:04,423
-For our next story,

285
00:17:04,423 --> 00:17:06,692
we head across town
to another cinematic

286
00:17:06,692 --> 00:17:09,395
landmark, SIFF
Cinema Downtown.

287
00:17:09,395 --> 00:17:11,730
Seattle's love affair
with movies runs deep.

288
00:17:11,730 --> 00:17:14,133
So it was big news
when the iconic Cinerama

289
00:17:14,133 --> 00:17:15,701
Theater changed hands

290
00:17:15,701 --> 00:17:18,437
as SIFF stepped in
to revive the venue.

291
00:17:18,437 --> 00:17:21,206
And yes, the chocolate
popcorn lives on.

292
00:17:21,206 --> 00:17:22,741
Feliks Banel has the story.

293
00:17:24,243 --> 00:17:26,311
[ Projector whirring ]

294
00:17:26,311 --> 00:17:29,181
♪♪

295
00:17:29,848 --> 00:17:31,517
-When you start getting
close to the screen,

296
00:17:31,517 --> 00:17:35,287
you start realizing
just how huge it is.

297
00:17:35,287 --> 00:17:36,855
Now, this is a single, you know,

298
00:17:36,855 --> 00:17:40,325
piece of fabric 97 feet wide.

299
00:17:40,325 --> 00:17:41,827
-Tom Mara, director of

300
00:17:41,827 --> 00:17:43,762
the Seattle International
Film Festival,

301
00:17:43,762 --> 00:17:47,800
or SIFF, is right.
The screen is huge.

302
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:49,535
But that big screen
is just one thing

303
00:17:49,535 --> 00:17:51,437
that makes the old Cinerama --

304
00:17:51,437 --> 00:17:54,540
now officially called
SIFF Cinema Downtown --

305
00:17:54,540 --> 00:17:57,609
a rare and beloved place
for Seattle cinephiles.

306
00:17:57,609 --> 00:18:00,879
-As you know,
this is a beloved theater,

307
00:18:00,879 --> 00:18:03,048
and not only folks love it,

308
00:18:03,048 --> 00:18:06,518
but it also plays,
I think, a symbolic role

309
00:18:06,518 --> 00:18:11,156
in terms of bringing the city
back into a vibrancy.

310
00:18:11,156 --> 00:18:13,959
-To truly understand
what this theater means,

311
00:18:13,959 --> 00:18:15,694
you have to go back
to the beginning,

312
00:18:15,694 --> 00:18:21,066
to when movies were first taking
the world and Seattle by storm.

313
00:18:21,066 --> 00:18:25,671
-This is Seattle, Washington.
A city in a beautiful region.

314
00:18:25,671 --> 00:18:28,674
-Like any big American city
in the early 20th century,

315
00:18:28,674 --> 00:18:31,009
Seattle was home
to dozens of theaters,

316
00:18:31,009 --> 00:18:32,377
on the streets of downtown,

317
00:18:32,377 --> 00:18:34,246
but also in many
neighborhoods, too.

318
00:18:34,246 --> 00:18:36,715
The Green Parrot,

319
00:18:36,715 --> 00:18:38,517
the Colonial,

320
00:18:38,517 --> 00:18:40,853
the First Ave,

321
00:18:40,853 --> 00:18:44,022
the Coliseum,
and so many others.

322
00:18:44,022 --> 00:18:46,558
As vaudeville and other
live entertainment faded away,

323
00:18:46,558 --> 00:18:47,893
it didn't take long for movies

324
00:18:47,893 --> 00:18:49,761
to become the dominant
form of entertainment

325
00:18:49,761 --> 00:18:51,096
for the middle class.

326
00:18:51,096 --> 00:18:52,598
- That's interesting.

327
00:18:52,598 --> 00:18:54,933
-But by the time
TV arrived in Seattle,

328
00:18:54,933 --> 00:18:57,169
many theaters were beginning
to shut down,

329
00:18:57,169 --> 00:18:59,872
since you could now
watch movies at home.

330
00:18:59,872 --> 00:19:02,074
Of course, all the movies
on TV back then

331
00:19:02,074 --> 00:19:03,375
were in black and white,

332
00:19:03,375 --> 00:19:05,844
and the screens
on those old TVs,

333
00:19:05,844 --> 00:19:08,413
well, they were downright tiny.

334
00:19:08,413 --> 00:19:11,183
And that's where
Cinerama comes in.

335
00:19:11,183 --> 00:19:14,186
- You are about to see
the first public exhibition

336
00:19:14,186 --> 00:19:16,855
of an entirely new form
of entertainment.

337
00:19:16,855 --> 00:19:18,123
We call it Cinerama.

338
00:19:18,123 --> 00:19:20,692
- Cinerama was a brand name
for a new technology

339
00:19:20,692 --> 00:19:23,395
in the early 1950s
to produce Hollywood films

340
00:19:23,395 --> 00:19:25,597
to be shown on bigger
and better screens

341
00:19:25,597 --> 00:19:27,766
in theaters with bigger
and better sound equipment.

342
00:19:27,766 --> 00:19:31,703
- And this was technology
that was developed to compete

343
00:19:31,703 --> 00:19:33,205
with the television,

344
00:19:33,205 --> 00:19:35,207
now, all of a sudden,
in people's living room.

345
00:19:35,207 --> 00:19:37,609
-Cinerama theaters require
three projectors

346
00:19:37,609 --> 00:19:39,444
and three separate
projection booths

347
00:19:39,444 --> 00:19:42,147
that work in synchronization
to show an aggregate image

348
00:19:42,147 --> 00:19:44,249
on the giant Cinerama screen.

349
00:19:44,249 --> 00:19:47,719
It was gimmicky
but impressive, too.

350
00:19:47,719 --> 00:19:51,790
Cinerama first came to Seattle's
Paramount Theater in 1956

351
00:19:51,790 --> 00:19:53,625
and was a hit
at the World's Fair

352
00:19:53,625 --> 00:19:55,294
in the Boeing Spacearium.

353
00:19:55,294 --> 00:19:57,663
-The world's largest
movie screen.

354
00:19:57,663 --> 00:19:58,997
-On the eve of the fair,

355
00:19:58,997 --> 00:20:01,300
Cinerama announced
they would build a showplace

356
00:20:01,300 --> 00:20:04,670
at Fourth Avenue
and Lenora Street.

357
00:20:04,670 --> 00:20:06,738
It was the first
new movie theater in downtown

358
00:20:06,738 --> 00:20:08,941
Seattle in 30 years.

359
00:20:08,941 --> 00:20:11,843
That three-projector format
was cumbersome and died away,

360
00:20:11,843 --> 00:20:14,780
but the theater
ran regular movies instead.

361
00:20:14,780 --> 00:20:17,182
Over the years,
the place got a little rundown

362
00:20:17,182 --> 00:20:20,285
until late Microsoft co-founder
Paul Allen bought it.

363
00:20:20,285 --> 00:20:24,590
Allen did a major renovation
and the Cinerama survived.

364
00:20:24,590 --> 00:20:26,158
- So now we're at the back
of the theater,

365
00:20:26,158 --> 00:20:27,492
coming into the projector room,

366
00:20:27,492 --> 00:20:29,861
and there's a lot
going on in here. Come on in.

367
00:20:29,861 --> 00:20:32,864
-And more than 60 years
after it first debuted,

368
00:20:32,864 --> 00:20:36,835
the Cinerama is still here,
thanks to Tom Mara and SIFF.

369
00:20:36,835 --> 00:20:38,971
-A number of different systems.

370
00:20:38,971 --> 00:20:42,608
We've got the ability
to do 70 millimeter.

371
00:20:42,608 --> 00:20:44,710
We've got digital projection.

372
00:20:44,710 --> 00:20:48,213
We have the Cinerama
projector there.

373
00:20:48,213 --> 00:20:49,781
We have this main booth.

374
00:20:49,781 --> 00:20:51,984
Then, if you look onto
the right-hand side wall,

375
00:20:51,984 --> 00:20:53,518
you'll see another
projector booth,

376
00:20:53,518 --> 00:20:55,120
same on the left-hand side.

377
00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:58,457
And those three projectors
combine the images

378
00:20:58,457 --> 00:21:03,161
onto this
very wide curved screen.

379
00:21:05,197 --> 00:21:07,699
-The technology may be
a little complicated,

380
00:21:07,699 --> 00:21:11,536
but the value in saving the
Cinerama is easy to understand.

381
00:21:11,536 --> 00:21:13,538
When Paul Allen died in 2018,

382
00:21:13,538 --> 00:21:15,574
the Cinerama's future
was in doubt.

383
00:21:15,574 --> 00:21:18,744
Then, in 2020, it shut down
and many people

384
00:21:18,744 --> 00:21:20,746
thought the closure
was permanent.

385
00:21:20,746 --> 00:21:24,182
So when he took the job
to lead SIFF in 2022,

386
00:21:24,182 --> 00:21:27,019
Tom Mara's number one priority
was clear.

387
00:21:27,019 --> 00:21:30,589
-10 minutes of day
one of my job at SIFF,

388
00:21:30,589 --> 00:21:35,661
it was clear that we had a quest
in front of us

389
00:21:35,661 --> 00:21:38,930
to figure out how we ensure
the future of the cinema.

390
00:21:38,930 --> 00:21:41,199
- With support from the City
of Seattle and King County,

391
00:21:41,199 --> 00:21:43,869
SIFF reached a deal
with Paul Allen's estate.

392
00:21:43,869 --> 00:21:47,372
-And, so, we were
really inspired

393
00:21:47,372 --> 00:21:49,241
by how the community
came together.

394
00:21:49,241 --> 00:21:53,278
-One, two, three.

395
00:21:53,278 --> 00:21:56,782
- And tonight you are here
for the VIP preview

396
00:21:56,782 --> 00:21:58,216
of SIFF Cinema Downtown,

397
00:21:58,216 --> 00:22:02,187
the reopening of Seattle's
historic Cinerama Theatre.

398
00:22:07,292 --> 00:22:10,062
- Welcome to
SIFF Cinema Downtown.

399
00:22:10,062 --> 00:22:12,064
Thank you so much
for your championship.

400
00:22:12,064 --> 00:22:14,733
[ Cheers and applause ]

401
00:22:14,733 --> 00:22:16,368
- While movie theaters had
once been

402
00:22:16,368 --> 00:22:18,470
strictly a for-profit business,

403
00:22:18,470 --> 00:22:20,539
SIFF's role
as a cultural nonprofit

404
00:22:20,539 --> 00:22:22,441
means the future
of the old Cinerama

405
00:22:22,441 --> 00:22:24,476
is not only about
the bottom line.

406
00:22:24,476 --> 00:22:26,111
- We're an arts organization.

407
00:22:26,111 --> 00:22:29,081
People care about art,
people care about film,

408
00:22:29,081 --> 00:22:32,050
and people want to come together

409
00:22:32,050 --> 00:22:34,786
and be captured
by the big screen.

410
00:22:34,786 --> 00:22:36,955
- The more we can do
to encourage people

411
00:22:36,955 --> 00:22:39,091
to be here in person,

412
00:22:39,091 --> 00:22:43,261
to go to cinemas, to really help
the arts thrive, the better,

413
00:22:43,261 --> 00:22:45,964
I think, our culture
and our communities will all be.

414
00:22:45,964 --> 00:22:48,967
♪♪

415
00:22:48,967 --> 00:22:50,902
- The big screen,
comfortable seats,

416
00:22:50,902 --> 00:22:52,637
an incredible sound system,

417
00:22:52,637 --> 00:22:57,409
and -- okay, okay -- the famous
chocolate popcorn, too,

418
00:22:57,409 --> 00:23:01,146
all add up to a unique
cinematic experience.

419
00:23:01,146 --> 00:23:03,749
But for Tom Mara,
it's about the people, too.

420
00:23:03,749 --> 00:23:04,950
- I just know, for one,

421
00:23:04,950 --> 00:23:07,285
I'll always have fun
hanging out in the lobby

422
00:23:07,285 --> 00:23:08,754
and just watching
people come in

423
00:23:08,754 --> 00:23:11,523
and getting ready
for the lights to go down,

424
00:23:11,523 --> 00:23:13,859
which I think is one of
the finest moments in life.

425
00:23:13,859 --> 00:23:15,193
When the lights
start going down,

426
00:23:15,193 --> 00:23:17,095
you get ready
for your adventure.

427
00:23:17,095 --> 00:23:18,997
- And the transformation
of Cinerama

428
00:23:18,997 --> 00:23:21,099
to SIFF Cinema Downtown

429
00:23:21,099 --> 00:23:23,702
is one adventure
that movie lovers in Seattle

430
00:23:23,702 --> 00:23:26,571
will be thrilled to enjoy
for decades to come.

431
00:23:26,571 --> 00:23:33,311
♪♪

432
00:23:35,547 --> 00:23:36,348
- SIFF Cinema

433
00:23:36,348 --> 00:23:38,183
Downtown is open
for business

434
00:23:38,183 --> 00:23:39,985
and the theater will be
a part of this year's

435
00:23:39,985 --> 00:23:42,120
Seattle International Film
Festival,

436
00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:44,322
running
May 7th through the 17th.

437
00:23:44,322 --> 00:23:45,991
For more information
on the festival

438
00:23:45,991 --> 00:23:48,427
and the theater, visit
SIFF.net.

439
00:23:48,427 --> 00:23:49,461
We'll be right back.

440
00:23:50,395 --> 00:24:04,109
♪♪

441
00:24:04,843 --> 00:24:08,847
♪♪

442
00:24:10,615 --> 00:24:12,083
That wraps
up this edition of

443
00:24:12,083 --> 00:24:13,618
City Stream from the PACCAR

444
00:24:13,618 --> 00:24:16,221
IMAX Theater
in Pacific Science Center.

445
00:24:16,221 --> 00:24:17,823
To find more info
and showtimes

446
00:24:17,823 --> 00:24:18,390
for the theater,

447
00:24:18,390 --> 00:24:20,525
go to
PacificScienceCenter.org

448
00:24:20,525 --> 00:24:22,127
and click on IMAX.

449
00:24:22,127 --> 00:24:24,696
Now it's time to settle in
and enjoy the full IMAX

450
00:24:24,696 --> 00:24:26,231
experience
on the big screen.

451
00:24:27,299 --> 00:24:43,081
♪♪

452
00:24:50,989 --> 00:24:54,893
♪♪
