For most people, traveling abroad means seeing the sights, sampling local food or visiting loved ones. However, for Christopher Nolan’s most dedicated fans, the destination is a cinema. This week, hundreds of movie lovers are boarding long-haul flights to Melbourne, Australia, for one purpose: to watch. odyssey In IMAX 1570, Christopher Nolan has spent years advocating this format.

Some are flying in from Germany, Türkiye, Singapore and Malaysia. Others are traveling from across Australia or the United States. Their itinerary is simple – land, see the movie, and for many, watch it again.

This sounds extreme until you realize that, for Nolan’s followers, it’s not just about seeing a new release. It’s about experiencing it exactly as the filmmaker intended.

So, why are fans actually traveling around the world just for one movie?

There are only 41 theaters in the world capable of projecting IMAX 1570 (though none in India), with only seven located outside North America. Among them is IMAX Melbourne, the only cinema screening in the Southern Hemisphere odyssey 1570 films in print. That rarity has turned the theater into a global destination for cinephiles. You can read more about the 1570 print and why it is so special Here.

The timing could hardly be more opportune. Nolan’s latest film is an adaptation of Homer odysseyOne of the greatest journeys in literature. While Odysseus battles storms, monsters and turbulent seas to return home, audiences are crossing continents in search of what they say is the definitive way to watch a movie.

For Nolan, the format was never a marketing ploy. IMAX 1570 – named for its 70 mm film stock and 15 perforations per frame – delivers one of the highest-resolution cinematic images available. It is demanding, expensive and increasingly rare.

How Nolan recorded The Odyssey in IMAX 1570

odyssey It takes that commitment further than any previous film. It is the first feature shot entirely using IMAX 1570 cameras. Each camera weighs approximately 180 kilograms, requiring the film magazines to be changed every three minutes, and Nolan also collaborated with IMAX engineers to develop a soundproof housing, so that dialogue could be recorded without the mechanical noise of the cameras on every scene.

In an age when filmmaking is increasingly driven by digital convenience, Nolan is adopting a process that is slower, heavier and far more labor-intensive. That dedication has earned him an enjoyment few contemporary directors enjoy: audiences willing to travel thousands of miles for this format.

Melbourne’s IMAX has become the center of that movement. Its 32 meter wide, 23 meter high screen is the world’s largest 1.43:1 IMAX screen. First odyssey Upon opening, the cinema sold over 30,000 tickets, with over 17,000 tickets sold within the first 24 hours on sale.

while talking to GuardianGeneral manager Jeremy Fee said the attraction is straightforward. He said, “We’re only one of 41 theaters around the world where you can see it the way Nolan made the film. There are only seven theaters outside of North America, so people are looking for that special experience. They can’t really see it anywhere else.”

Some visitors are building entire vacations around one screening. Among them are German couple Christian Wachter and Romy Demeter, who were visiting from Indonesia before they included it in their itinerary to see Melbourne. odyssey – twice.

“People have asked why would you take that plane to Melbourne and watch a movie?” the watcher told Guardian. “Because it’s the biggest 1570 screen in the world,” he said. For them the comparison is obvious. Sports fans regularly spend thousands to attend the World Cup, Wimbledon or Formula One races. He argues that traveling for film is another form of cultural pilgrimage. “It’s not that we’re completely crazy,” he said, laughing.

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Demeter acknowledged that not everyone in the family agreed. His 87-year-old grandmother laughed after hearing the plan. Wachter’s father also struggled to understand this. But this is the deal. That kind of commitment and love is what makes you a fan.

Most cinemas stopped screening films by 1570 years ago as digital technology became dominant. Melbourne removed its film projector in 2015 and reinstalled it two years later after Nolan encouraged IMAX venues to screen the 2017 film. dunkirk On film. That decision now seems remarkably prescient.

Cinema has always been about stories. But sometimes, the story starts long before the lights dim. For Christopher Nolan fans, odyssey More than any other blockbuster. It’s proof that, even in the age of instant streaming, some experiences remain worth crossing the ocean.

Starring Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Travis Scott, odyssey Releasing worldwide on 18th July and a day earlier in India.