Christie is Cannes Festival partner

posted by Michael Zoldessy on May 24, 2010 at 7:40 am

CYPRESS, CA — Christie, a global leader in digital cinema, announced that it is Cannes International Film Festival’s Technical Partner for the fourth year in a row, digitizing a record 22 theatres with the latest generation Christie DLP Cinema projectors. Installations include the next-generation Series 2 projector, the Christie Solaria Series, highlighted by the Christie CP2220 and Christie CP2230, which feature Academy Award*-winning DLP Cinema technology from Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN). Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, presented out of competition, opened Cannes with its world premiere on a Christie CP2230.

“It is a huge privilege to see our digital projectors playing such a critical role in this key event in international cinema,” remarked Christie EMEA Vice President, Dale Miller. “As a pioneer in the film industry for more than 80 years, Christie is proud to make available again its expertise and experience to the world of cinema.”

Pascal Gervais, Director of Development for Christie France, observed: “Following three successful years alongside our partner XDC, Christie has signed a three-year agreement with the Cannes Film Festival. The agreement covers the technical and logistical aspects of 2D and 3D digital projection, and is proof of the trust and respect that cinema professionals have for Christie.”

Gervais noted that the agreement with France’s most prestigious and world-renowned festival comes into effect at a time when the country is speeding up its switch to digital cinema. To date, France counts more than 1,000 digitally equipped theatres, representing nearly 20% of all screens in use. Of these, 75% are enhanced with 3D digital technology.

Fully compliant with DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) specifications, the 4K-ready Christie Solaria Series features Christie’s “15 minutes to 4K,” the industry’s fastest upgrade path to 4K digital cinema. They also include Christie Brilliant3D technology for the brightest 3D projection on the market, with the top-of-the-line Christie CP2230 delivering 32,000 ANSI lumens of illumination to power screens up to 100 feet wide.

“Christie manufactures the most widely used digital cinema projectors on the market today. The company has reached the historical milestone of 11,000 active digital cinema installations around the world,” said Miller. “With 62% of the global market in digital installations and a vote of confidence in its projectors from the biggest international film event, Christie continues to lead the way as the most cutting-edge technology brand for 2D and 3D digital projection.”

As a Technical Partner, Christie is screening all of the digital movies at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival. For the complete Official Selection, Out of Competition and Marché du Film elements, visit www.festival-cannes.com/en.html

About Christie
Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual technologies company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio, Inc., Japan, (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world’s most advanced projectors and complete system displays, Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images. Visit www.christiedigital.com

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• On Saturday, February 20, 2010, the Academy Board of Governors bestowed the 2009 Scientific and Engineering Award (Academy Plaque) to four individuals responsible for the color accuracy of Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN) DLP Cinema projectors.

Acknowledged during a private award ceremony, D. Scott Dewald, Greg Pettitt, Brad Walker and Bill Werner were recognized for their contributions furthering the design and refinement of the Texas Instruments, DLP Cinema projector, achieving a level of performance which enables color-accurate, digital intermediate previews of motion pictures.

Christie is a registered trademark of Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.
DLP Cinema is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments, Inc.
Christie Solaria is a trademark of Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.