BLANCPAIN AWARDS UNDERWATER FILMMAKER
DIALED IN Horological News
Laurent Ballesta
Executive Director of Hans Hass Fifty Fathoms Award, Leslie Leaney and the recipients of the award, Howard & Michele Hall
The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Blancpain Ocean Commitment II
BLANCPAIN AWARDS UNDERWATER FILMMAKER
BLANCPAIN AWARDED THE HANS HASS FIFTY FATHOMS AWARD TO UNDERWATER IMAX
FILMMAKERS Howard and Michele Hall. The award was presented in April at a ceremony held in the ArtScience Museum of Marina Bay Sands center, Singapore.
The Halls are internationally recognized for their groundbreaking work in underwater film and photography, which has already won them seven Emmy Awards. Of the five highest grossing 3D films produced by IMAX Corporation, two were directed by Howard Hall. Into the Deep has earned box office receipts of more than $ 70 million and Deep Sea 3D more than $ 96 million, while the Halls’ recently released Under the Sea 3D has grossed more than $ 52 million to date.
Blancpain late last year introduced the second limited edition timepiece, the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Blancpain Ocean Commitment II( BOC II) that, for the first time, features an all-blue ceramic case. For each timepiece sold in this 250-piece limited edition, an amount of 1,000 euros will be donated in support of scientific expeditions. The 250,000 euros resulting from this will be added to Blancpain’ s contributions in support of the oceans.
The BOC II limited edition timepiece comes with a hand-numbered copy of a manuscript written by Professor Hans Hass in the 1960s and which to date has never before been published in full. Hass is known for his revolutionary scuba diving developments, underwater photography, and scientific research.
In addition, on World Oceans Day( June 8) Blancpain released diver’ s Laurent Ballesta’ s latest film, which makes the link between the Gombessa II and Gombessa IV expeditions, which focuses on the feeding behavior of the grey reef sharks. The work shown in the short film has been funded with the money from the first BOC limited edition watch.
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