Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta

JOURNEY TO MECCA tells the story of Ibn Battuta, (played by Chems Eddine Zinoun) a young scholar, who leaves Tangier in 1325 on an epic and perilous journey, traveling alone from his home in Morocco to reach Mecca, some 3,000 miles to the east.

Ibn Battuta is besieged by countless obstacles as he makes his way across the North African desert to Mecca. Along the route he meets an unlikely stranger, the Highwayman (played by Hassam Ghancy) who becomes his paid protector and eventual friend. During his travels he is attacked by bandits, dehydrated by thirst, rescued by Bedouins, and forced to retrace his route by a war-locked Red Sea.

Ibn Battuta finally joins the legendary Damascus Caravan with thousands of pilgrims bound for Mecca for the final leg of what would become his 5,000 mile, 18 month long journey to Mecca.

When he arrives in Mecca, he is a man transformed. We then experience the Hajj as he did over 700 years ago, and, in recognition of its timelessness, we dissolve to the Hajj as it is still performed today, by millions of pilgrims, in some of the most extraordinary and moving IMAX® footage ever presented.

Ibn Battuta would not return home for almost 30 years, reaching over 40 countries and revisiting Mecca five more times to perform the Hajj. He would travel three times farther than Marco Polo. His legacy is one of the greatest travel journals ever recorded. A crater on the moon is named in his honour.

A Cosmic Picture and SK Films production, released by SK Films in association with National Geographic. Director/Co-Screenwriter: Bruce Neibaur. Producers: Jonathan Barker, Dominic Cunningham-Reid, Taran Davies. Co-Producer: Dima Alansai, Dounia Benjelloun, Al-Zain Al-Sabah. Executive Producer: Jake Eberts. Screenwriters: Tahir Shah, Carl Knutson. Supervising Producers: Diane Roberts, Tony Thatcher (Morocco). Line Producer: Daniel Ferguson. Director of Photography: Matthew Williams. Production Designer: Mike Fowlie. Art Director: Philip Murphy. Editor: Jean-Marie Drot. Costume Designer: Emma Bellocq. Directors of Photography (Mecca): Afshin Javdi, Ghasem Ebrahimian. Starring: Chems Eddine Zinoun, Hassam Ghancy, Nadim Sawalha, Nabil Elouahabi. Narrated by Ben Kingsley.

BMZ Reviews:

Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta By Ross Anthony

Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta By Ann Coates

Outside Reviews:

"Hajj, Muslim history unfolds in IMAX film" By Nick Meyer, The Arab American News

"Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta" By Stephen Cole, The Globe and Mail

"Journey to Mecca: Spritualizing your Imax experience" By Chris Knight, National Post

"Doc a 'Journey' of faith" By Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun

"'Journey to Mecca' is new IMAX offering at the Henry Ford" By John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press

Journey to Mecca Interview: Producer Jonathan Barker By BMZ Staff (January 30, 2009)

[DOC] Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta

Latest Review:

Rating: Excellent
Posted by: Revsusu
Three friends and I went to see this film last night at the Science World IMAX Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia. From my point of view I found the film to be both breathtaking and beautiful for different reasons. First, the brilliance of the IM ... Read More >>

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