American Audiences Can Now Discover POMPEII from the British Museum in Theatres Starting November

PHILADELPHIA - Sept. 26, 2013 - PRLog -- (Philadelphia, PA) – SpectiCast has been appointed by More2Screen as the U.S. distributor for Pompeii for Schools beginning October 25 and encore presentations for Pompeii from the British Museum from November 17 to theatres, museums, galleries, performing arts centers, and educational institutions across the United States. These are the very first theatre events to be produced by the British Museum for a major exhibition and are an exclusive view of the blockbuster show Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum which focused on the Roman homes and lives of the inhabitants of the thriving industrial hub of Pompeii and the small seaside town of Herculaneum nearly 2,000 years ago when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD.

Specially created for 7-11 year old children, Pompeii for Schools features BBC television presenters Ed Petrie and Naomi Wilkinson, accompanied by children from London primary schools, discovering what life was like for Romans living in the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The film covers a range of subjects, including history, English, science, art and design and citizenship, and is presented in a lively and informative style designed to engage a young audience. In addition to the film, supplementary teacher's guide and student resource pack will be provided for all participating schools and local exhibitors. This exclusive educational program is available to public theaters, as well as schools, museums, and libraries.

SpectiCast is also distributing encore presentations of the successful main feature screenings of Pompeii from the British Museum (Rated R). With an introduction by the director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, this fascinating cinematic tour of the exhibition features the insights of a number of renowned experts, who lend their knowledge to bring the magnificent artifacts to life including the curator of the exhibition Paul Roberts; Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at Cambridge University; and historian Bettany Hughes. With eating and gardening being an integral part of life, we also hear from chef Giorgio Locatelli and gardener Rachel de Thame.

Audiences are taken along a Roman street and into a local house to view an extraordinary range of artifacts including intricate pieces of jewelry, sculpture, mosaics, cooking equipment and even food including an intact loaf of bread with the baker’s stamp still visible. Also on display is wooden furniture carbonized by the high temperatures of the ash that engulfed Herculaneum which are extremely rare finds that would not have survived at Pompeii – showing the importance of combining evidence from the two cities. The furniture includes a linen chest, an inlaid stool and even a garden bench. Perhaps the most remarkable is a perfectly carbonized baby’s crib.

Mark Rupp, President and Co-Founder of SpectiCast enthuses, “I’m delighted to add the program to the company’s roster, not only as a feature film, but also for schools and libraries to use as an impressive educational tool. In distributing both formats of Pompeii, SpectiCast will maximize the reach of these stunning films through our 700+ exhibitor network.”  These big screen events were filmed live in high definition at the British Museum in June 2013, and will give audiences in United States the opportunity to see this critically acclaimed exhibition from the comfort of a seat at their local theatre or school.

ABOUT THE FILMS

Premiere dates:
• Pompeii for Schools: School version: October 25, 2013
Running time: 60 minutes
• Pompeii from The British Museum: Feature version: November 17, 2013
Running time: 90 minutes

The British Museum’s exhibition “Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum” received glowing reviews from media outlets including London’s The Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph (stunning …superb”), The Independent on Sunday (“a wonderful show of wonderful things”), Metro (“a brilliantly told story of love, life, sex and death”) and Time Out (the British Museum has created an experience that’s almost as good, and definitely as informative, as visiting the real thing”).

ABOUT THE BRITISH MUSEUM

The British Museum was established in 1753 by Act of Parliament and opened to the public in 1759. Governed by a body of Trustees, the Museum was from its beginnings a new type of institution, its collection belonging to the nation and freely accessible to all. The British Museum today is a museum of the world for the world, holding a collection of eight million objects—one of the finest in existence—spanning two million years of human history. The British Museum is the most visited attraction in the UK receiving 6 million visitors a year and aims to reach a broader worldwide audience by extending engagement not only with these objects but with the cultures and civilizations that they represent.
www.britishmuseum.org