Ben Stassen

Biography

Ben Stassen is a Belgian film producer and director. He founded nWave Pictures in 1994, producing highly successful CGI ride films including the groundbreaking Devils Mine. Starting in 1997, Ben Stassen began focusing on large format films usually screened at IMAX theaters, and made some of the most successful large format films to date, including Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun and Alien Adventure. Contrary to most large format films, which mix education with spectacular visuals, most of Stassen's films are aimed exclusively at the entertainment market. As IMAX theaters around the world increasingly became capable of screening stereoscopic (3-D) films in the late nineties, Stassen quickly embraced this new technology, and directed a succession of popular 3-D large format films, such as Encounter in the Third Dimension and Haunted Castle. Upon screening "Haunted Castle", Imax corporation sent a fax to all the exhibitors warning them about the content of the film. Imax went as far as labeling "Haunted Castle" as degrading to the brand. This triggered a strong reaction from both the exhibitors and the press. The film was marketed as "The film Imax corporation does not want you to see". It went on the become a huge success worldwide. Ben Stassen's first feature length animated film, Fly Me to the Moon, was released in North America on 15 August 2008 on both regular size and IMAX screens, exclusively in 3-D. .