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Christopher Nolan has dedicated “The Odyssey” to David Keighley, Imax’s first chief quality officer and a pioneer of large-format cinema, who died after a battle with cancer last year.
Nolan announced the news during
the London premiere of the film at the BFI Imax Theater. As he introduced the screening, he said, “This was the first place I ever met David, in this theater, and we embarked on a more than 20-year journey. I confessed to him my secret desire to shoot Hollywood films on Imax, and he very gently and very skillfully brought me along and helped out.”
Over the years, Nolan shot many of his films on Imax. “Batman Begins” was optimized for Imax, and he began using Imax cameras for “The Dark Knight.” He also shot “Dunkirk,” “Tenet” and “Oppenheimer” using the large premium format, but “The Odyssey” is the first film shot entirely with Imax cameras.
Nolan said, “David passed sadly right after we finished critical photography on this film, and after we finished his very important work of printing all our days and approving all of the photography. So I’m thrilled that he was able to finish that.”
In an Instagram post, Geoff Keighley, David’s son, shared the video and wrote, “When Dad learned he had terminal cancer in January 2026, he was just days away from starting principal photography on ‘The Odyssey,’ which he believed would be ‘the most important movie ever made’ in his 53-year career at Imax. ‘The Odyssey’ is the fulfillment of his lifelong dream. Imax began in the 1970s making documentaries about space, animals, and the wonders of the world, but my Mom and Dad always dreamed that one day, a major Hollywood epic would be made entirely with Imax cameras — ‘our “Lawrence of Arabia,”‘ as he liked to say.” He continued, “When we, as a family, met with his doctors, my Dad was clear on the goal that would define the rest of his life: ‘Please keep me alive long enough to finish production of “The Odyssey” for Chris.’”
Nolan stated, “David passed sadly right after we finished principal photography on this film.”
Geoff Keighley concluded by writing, “As my Dad grew weaker, he never wavered in his commitment to Chris and his wife/producing partner Emma Thomas. And you know what? He did it. Like Odysseus, my Dad made it home — he finished principal photography of the film.”
