"Gold Fever" Joins Janson Collection of Large Format Films

Janson Media today announced the release of Gold Fever to television markets worldwide. This 41-minute Giant Screen Film was recently converted to HDTV and is now available for worldwide television licensing for the first time. The documentary interweaves prospector Al Doherty's journey along the Klondike trail with exotic side trips to Thailand, India and Africa. Viewers will come to understand the cultural, economic and historical significance of gold; and take a wild ride down a mineshaft in the depths of an alien underground world where no large format camera has gone before. The story begins with prospector Al Doherty and his grizzly-detecting dog, Blue, as they set out on a five-month trek along the Klondike trail, 100 years after the greatest gold rush of all time. Determined to find a mother lode, Doherty, who has been prospecting in the Yukon for 24 years, braving the elements and near-fatal bear attack, has yet to hit it rich, but this year he thinks his fortune is about to change. The Yukon has seen its share of fortunes. Back in 1898 George Carmack discovered a nugget of gold in the Yukon, precipitating The Klondike Gold Rush. More than 100,000 people from around the world trekked through the snow-covered mountains. Our story takes us next to Africa's Gold Coast, where King Otumfuo-Ware the 2nd, head of the Ashante tribe, celebrates a Royal Durba festival. Adorned in ancestral 22 Carat gold jewelry so heavy, he can barely lift his arms, the King grants a first-time audience to the film crew. Next, in Thailand, worshippers display their devotion at a 60-foot reclining gold Buddha and Thai Temple dancers exhibit their skills. The second crew ever allowed inside to film the famous Bangkok's Imperial Palace, the Gold Fever crew shot buildings aglitter with gold. In India, the Sikh Golden Temple glows, clad in 300 tons of gold; and 30 elephants in elaborate gold headdresses, are surrounded by a million celebrants thronging a Hindu festival. In Canada, a powerful explosion dislodges 100,000 tons of rock-bearing ore in an open pit mine, while, underground, miners pound away at the rock-face, their helmets projecting pencils of light down the dark tunnels. Back in the Yukon, a plane sweeps into a view at sunset as Doherty and his dog, waiting lakeside, near the end of their odyssey in the enduring quest for gold.