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The 3D craze currently sweeping Hollywood has made it to Israel, and not just at cinemas. At Mini Israel, the attraction at Latrun that lets visitors walk amongst miniature versions of landmarks from all around the country without spending a fortune on gas and entrance fees, the 3D movie concept has entered new dimension, allowing Israel to be toured even more thoroughly via even less travel.

A new 3D movie, made especially for Mini Israel by an international team headed by American company XpanD is now on offer at the park, with screenings having begun over the course of this past summer. XpanD is the sole brand name for cinema-ready 3D glasses that utilize active-shutter technology, but the firm also dabbles in movie production and movie theater infrastructure. Also involved in getting Mini Israel 3D-ready was a tech crew from Paris, while post-production for the movie itself was overseen in nearby Bnei Brak by a firm valled Gadget, using aerial footage captured by Herzliya-based Albatross 3D Group.

For 20 NIS on top of the park admission fees, visitors to Mini Israel, which is just a short drive outside Jerusalem near the famous Latrun Monastery and IDF tank museum, can be transported to all of the country's major sites, like the Temple Mount, the Knesset, the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, Mount Hermon and more, much of it via breathtaking 360-degree photographic environments. The movie gives visitors to Mini Israel added context and meaning to the site's primary offerings.

"When we examined other alternatives for park attractions, 3D film rose above everything else," explains Galit Abisror, deputy head of marketing at the park of the new addition. "Mini Israel is always striving to move forward, and the film illustrates this. The 3D movie adds another layer of experience and adds to the visit - the combination of the film and a tour the park maximizes the experience of visiting the park and getting to know the places and landscapes of Israel."

Entitled Israel in Another Dimension, the movie also includes archival footage of Israel throughout its history rendered into 3D, a first for any movie made here. The whole project took a year and a half to complete and cost two million NIS.

The investment has paid off, says Abisror, with demand among visitors running high. "On the weekends, people are waiting in line to see it," she reports. "People I don't know will come up to me and say that it reminds them how beautiful our country is and makes them want to travel around more. We are definitely excited to see how it is affecting people, and it has exceeded our rosiest expectations."

Tel Aviv native Amir Dror, 37, who serves as a strategic director at XpanD, recently told the Ha'aretz newspaper that the Mini Israel movie stands out in his mind as being especially significant, despite the dozens of 3D movie projects he oversees on an ongoing basis. "You see Israel in all its glory in three dimensions," he said. "We took historical footage, we went through it frame by frame, we improved it, and we integrated new contents. It's exciting. Even the tenth time I watched the film, I shed a tear."