What does the IMAX film format represent?

IMAX is a Canadian film format developed in Montreal in 1967 by Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Robert Kerr, and William Shaw, who had been commissioned to produce multi-screen films for Expo 67's Labyrinth pavilion. Their company, IMAX Corporation, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario since 1994, developed the 70-millimetre 15-perforation horizontal film negative that gave the format ten times the resolution of standard 35-millimetre film.

The first IMAX film, 'Tiger Child' by Donald Brittain, premiered at the Fuji Pavilion of Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. The first permanent IMAX theatre, Cinésphere at Ontario Place in Toronto, opened on May 22, 1971 with the film 'North of Superior'. Cinésphere is now a National Historic Site of Canada and remains in operation. By 1990 IMAX theatres had opened in over 40 countries.

IMAX Corporation introduced the IMAX Dome (originally Omnimax) in 1973 for planetariums, IMAX 3D in 1986, and the digital IMAX format in 2008. Hollywood studios began regularly releasing blockbuster films in IMAX from the mid-2000s, starting with Ron Howard's 'Apollo 13' in 2002. The Royal Canadian Mint commemorated the format with a special silver coin in 2010 marking IMAX's contribution to Canadian innovation. Founder Roman Kroitor was awarded the Order of Canada in 1995 for his work on IMAX and the National Film Board.

The format won an Academy Scientific and Engineering Award in 1986 and an Academy Award of Merit (Oscar) in 1996. IMAX joins insulin and the Canadarm as one of the country's signature global innovations, all developed in publicly supported Canadian institutions.