Cinema innovator David Keighley, renowned for his work in giant-screen moviemaking at Imax, passes away at the age of 77.
David Keighley, a pioneering figure in the world of cinema, has sadly passed away at the age of 77. Keighley served as Imax's first chief quality officer for the past 15 years, leaving an indelible mark on the company and the film industry as a whole.
Keighley's most recent project in post-production was the film "Believe." Prior to this, he had been instrumental in helping Imax migrate from showing mainly institutional movies to digitally reformatting Hollywood titles for the local multiplex and fanboy audiences.
His contributions to Imax were widely recognised and appreciated. Imax CEO Richard Gelfond described Keighley as "as close to the human embodiment of Imax as there has ever been." Christopher Nolan, with whom Keighley worked closely for over 20 years, praised him for opening Hollywood's eyes to the power of the Imax format.
Keighley's career in the giant-screen industry began in 1972 when he and his wife, Patricia, founded the large-format postproduction company DKP 70MM. The Keighleys' company was later acquired by Imax in 1988, with the couple formally joining the company.
Over the course of his career, Keighley oversaw postproduction on more than 500 Imax films, including the upcoming Christopher Nolan adaptation of The Odyssey, which will be the first theatrical release ever shot entirely with Imax cameras. Keighley completed his review of the dailies for the Imax version of The Odyssey just days before his death.
Denis Villeneuve, the director of the upcoming Dune 3 tentpole, also used Imax cameras for his film. Keighley's work on these projects, particularly The Odyssey, filled him with immense pride. He was incredibly energized by the prospect of bringing these epic stories to life on the Imax screen.
In addition to his wife and son Geoff, a producer, Keighley is survived by their two other children, Chris and Jennifer, and their grandchildren, Sam and Eli. Geoff Keighley confirmed his father's death to our website.
Ryan Coogler was introduced to Keighley by Christopher Nolan. James Cameron worked closely with Keighley for over 25 years. Keighley also served as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Society of Cinematographers, and the Giant Screen Theater Association.
Keighley died at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. His passing leaves a void in the film industry that will be difficult to fill. However, his legacy will live on through the countless films he worked on and the impact he had on the way films are made and experienced today.
