Le Grand Voyage d’Ibn Battûta explore l’histoire, la géographie et la culture de l’Afrique du Nord et du Moyen-Orient au 14ème siècle. Le film se fonde sur les expériences réelles d’Ibn Battûta, un des plus grands voyageurs de l’Histoire. Le film offre plusieurs pistes de découvertes scientifiques à approfondir dont l’astronomie, la cartographie, la géographie physique et l’histoire du monde.

Ibn Battûta, célèbre voyageur Marocain du 14ème siècle, entreprit en 1325 une expédition épique à La Mecque, le cœur historique et culturel de l’Islam.

À son retour 29 ans plus tard, il avait traversé le monde de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et l’Espagne à l’Inde, la Chine et les Maldives, parcourant plus de 120 000 kilomètres, soit trois fois plus que Marco Polo. À la demande du Sultan de Fez, Ibn Battûta dicta ses souvenirs et livra l’un des récits de voyage les plus célèbres du monde, le Rihla.

Le Grand Voyage d’Ibn Battûta est un documentaire dramatisé IMAX® tourné en Arabie Saoudite et au Maroc sur fond berbère. Il est distribué en français, en anglais et en arabe. Le film raconte l’histoire extraordinaire d’Ibn Battûta et retrace son premier pèlerinage entre 1325 et 1326 de Tanger à la Mecque. Dressant un portrait inoubliable de la civilisation Islamique du 14ème siècle, l’aventure périlleuse d’Ibn Battûta s’achève avec son premier Hajj. À l’issue du périple, le film dévoile des images détaillées du Hajj actuel, un pèlerinage qui attire chaque année plus de trois millions de Musulmans des quatre coins de la planète à La Mecque, où s’observent des rituels vieux de 1400 ans.

Les films IMAX® peuvent transporter les gens vers des lieux inaccessibles, du Mont Everest à l’Espace. Le Hajj, le rassemblement humain en activité le plus vieux du monde, offre une expérience unique pour ce médium. Les non Musulmans seront témoins de près de cet événement extraordinaire, les Musulmans y trouveront un sens encore plus profond.

un film de Bruce Neibaur

ACTEURS
Ibn Battuta : Chems Eddine Zinoun
The Highwayman : Hassam Ghancy
Ibn Muzaffar : Nadim Sawalha
Hamza : Nabil Elouahabi
Ben Kingsley (Narration)


Réalisateur /Co-Scénariste : Bruce Neibaur
Producteur Exécutif : Jake Eberts
Producteur : Jonathan Barker
Producteur : Dominic Cunningham-Reid
Producteur : Taran Davies
Co-Producteur : Dima Alansari
Co-Productrice : Dounia Benjelloun
Co-Producteur : Al-Zain Al-Sabah
Scénariste : Tahir Shah
Scénariste : Carl Knutson
Superviseuse de la Production : Diane Roberts
Superviseur de la Production : Tony Thatcher
Directeur de Production : Daniel Ferguson
Directeur de la photographie : Matthew Williams
Chef décorateur : Mike Fowlie
Directeur artistique : Philip Murphy
Monteur : Jean-Marie Drot
Costumière : Emma Bellocq
Régisseur – La Mecque : Abdul Latif Salazar
Directeur de la photographie – La Mecque : Afshin Javadi
Directeur de la photographie – La Mecque : Ghasem Ebrahimian
Directeur de la photographie – La Mecque : Rafey Mahmood

Le film propose:
* Des images uniques de l’intérieur de la Grande Mosquée à La Mecque
* Des prises de vue aériennes sans précédent de La Grande Mosquée, du Mont Arafat, et autres sites sacrés
* Une reconstitution fidèle de la Kabba au 14ème siècle
* La plus grande caravane de chameaux de tous les temps
* Des panoramas du désert à couper le souffle


SORTIE
A partir du 14 octobre 2009 à La Géode, Paris! (26 avenue Corentin-Cariou 75019, Paris)

FESTIVALS / AWARDS

2009 | Le Festival de La Géode, Paris
* Le Prix du Public

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 then Marco Polo. His legacy is one of the greatest travel journals ever recorded. A crater on the moon is named in his honour.



A BIOPIC
Ibn Battuta, the famed 14th century Moroccan traveler, set out in 1325 from his native Tangier on an epic journey to Mecca, the historical and cultural center of Islam. By the time he returned 29 years later, he had traveled the world from West Africa, Spain and India to China and the Maldives, covering some 75,000 miles and three times further than Marco Polo. At the instigation of the Sultan of Morocco, Ibn Battuta dictated his reminiscences, which became one of the world’s most famous travel books, The Rihla.
Journey to Mecca is an IMAX® dramatic and documentary feature, filmed in Saudi Arabia and Morocco in both English and Arabic, with background Berber. The film tells the amazing story of Ibn Battuta, the greatest explorer of the Old World, following his first pilgrimage between 1325 and 1326 from Tangier to Mecca. His perilous journey resonates with adventure while presenting an unforgettable picture of Islamic civilization during the 14th century, culminating with Battuta’s first Hajj. The story is book-ended by a close-up look at the contemporary Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca that draws three million Muslims from around the world every year who perform rituals that have taken place for over 1,400 years.

IMAX® films can take people to places they would otherwise never go, from Mt. Everest to the deep sea to outer space. The Hajj, the longest running congregation of humans annually on planet earth, is definitely a unique experience for the medium. For non- Muslims it is the closest they will ever come to witnessing this extraordinary event, and for Muslims it takes on an even deeper significance.

Cast:
Ibn Battuta: Chems Eddine Zinoun
The Highwayman: Hassam Ghancy
Ibn Muzaffar: Nadim Sawalha
Hamza: Nabil Elouahabi
Ben Kingsley (Narration)


Crew
Director/Co-Screenwriter: Bruce Neibaur
Executive Producer: Jake Eberts
Producer: Jonathan Barker
Producer: Dominic Cunningham-Reid
Producer: Taran Davies
Co-Producer: Dima Alansari
Co-Producer: Dounia Benjelloun
Co-Producer: Al-Zain Al-Sabah
Screenwriter: Tahir Shah
Screenwriter: Carl Knutson
Supervising: Producer Diane Roberts
Supervising: Producer Tony Thatcher
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
Location Director – Mecca: Abdul Latif Salazar
Director Of Photography – Mecca: Afshin Javadi
Director Of Photography – Mecca: Ghasem Ebrahimian
Director of Photography – Mecca: Rafey Mahmood


Available on DVD and Blu-Ray
Studio: Vivendi Entertainment
DVD Release Date: May 10, 2011

World Premiere in Abu Dhabi on January 7th, 2009 presented on the largest outdoor film screen ever assembled (70′ by 100′).
The film was showcased to over 6,500 people on a specially built IMAX® outdoor screen at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

An SK Films release in association with National Geographic of a Cosmic Picture film, produced by Cosmic Picture and SK Films.

© SK Films, 2008