Spotlight on Our Hero - Greg MacGillivray
- rutlandliving
- Jun 9
- 2 min read
This month, we celebrate Greg MacGillivray on his 80th birthday. In a career spanning more than six decades, Greg has created an impressive body of work that celebrates our beautiful planet. Filming around the world, with IMAX cameras, his work has screened in large theaters, museums and cultural centers around the world. He has given millions of viewers the experience of swimming with dolphins, climbing Mount Everest, and exploring the Great Barrier Reef.
Greg and his wife Barbara met in the ninth grade at Newport Harbor High School. She was his lab partner and helped sell tickets to his first surf film. They've been partners ever since.
Their son Shaun and daughter Meghan grew up making IMAX films with their parents. Today, both are successful filmmakers in their own right. Shaun is a director and producer; Meghan is a producer.
Greg and Barbara have been active supporters of their Laguna Beach community. Locally, they support the Coast Film Festival and the MY HERO International Film Festival. They frequently provide free screenings of their feature films to the Laguna community at the Rivian South Coast Theater.
They have also founded the nonprofit MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation, with a mission to educate and inspire the public through educational, call-to-action programming shown on large, IMAX screens. They have provided tickets and transportation so that more than 20,000 underserved students could see their films in IMAX theaters.
Their One World One Ocean Campaign sponsors the annual MY HERO Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award to recognize the work of student and professional filmmakers who shine a light on ocean heroes. The Earle award is given annually as part of the MY HERO International Film Festival and is presented each year on World Oceans Day - June 8th.
