Into the Land of Ice and Fire

Not Without My Dogs

October 2013 •English

Out of love for Huskies, nature and cold winters Dave and Kristen Olesen moved from Minnesota to the North West Territories in Canada 25 years ago to create their own little universe on the magnificent East arm of Great Slave Lake. With their two daughters Annika 15 and Liv 12 and their 37 dogs, the Olesens enjoy a unique lifestyle in the wide open wilderness far away from civilization. One winter they all leave their self-built homestead with ten dogs on a two and a half thousand mile family expedition allowing Annika to run the Junior Iditarod in Alaska. As unexpected obstacles all along the trip culminate in three heavily injured dogs the whole endeavor is at risk. Optimism, love and loyalty prevail on this exciting epic family voyage.

Winged Migration

December 2001 •French

This documentary follows various migratory bird species on their long journeys from their summer homes to the equator and back, covering thousands of miles and navigating by the stars. These arduous treks are crucial for survival, seeking hospitable climates and food sources. Birds face numerous challenges, including crossing oceans and evading predators, illness, and injury. Although migrations are undertaken as a community, birds disperse into family units once they reach their destinations, and every continent is affected by these migrations, hosting migratory bird species at least part of the year.

The Antarctic Syndrome

May 2019 •Polish

Does doctor Jan Terelak belong to an “elitist” group of the most unethical experimenters? The Polish scientist tested boundaries of human mental resilience in extreme conditions of solitude in Antarctica. The starting point for Piotr Jaworski's documentary is the psychologist's journal. The project from forty years ago was focused on studying the mental condition of polar explorers at the Polish station. Men were in the situation of confinement, comparable to a space mission. The film reconstructs these events, referring to the then contemporary context and changes in the perception of science.

Svalbard

September 2016 •English

Svalbard is a norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean where the world's northernmost city is situated. It is a place where the underground, terrestrial and spatial universes blend into each other starting from a coal mine up to Venus.

Under Thin Ice

September 2019 •French

Two Canadian experts in underwater filming, Mario Cyr and Jill Heinerth, join forces for the first time to record how Arctic wildlife is adapting to the dramatic effects of climate change.

A Shout into the Wind

December 2007 •Finnish

The fate of a culture lies on the shoulders of few determined individuals.

Nanook of the North

June 1922 •English

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

Highway to the Arctic

February 2017 •German

Every winter for decades, the Northwest Territories, in the Canadian Far North, changes its face. While the landscape is covered with snow and lakes of a thick layer of ice, blocking land transport, ice roads are converted to frozen expanses as far as the eye can see.

Isogaisa - the movie

August 2014 •Norwegian

The Isogaisa festival runs for a week starting with lectures, workshops and nature walks from Monday until Thursday and then has its main events during the weekend. Another festival in this area of Norway is Riddu Riddu that is similar in the way that it has a focus on Sami culture and connection to other indigenous people but is without the focus on shamanism, traditional beliefs and practices. The festival 2014 included joiking courses, name giving ceremonies, shaman performances, chocolate ceremony, concerts, folklore, dance parties, nightlife, archery training and much more.

Ice Dogs: The Only Companions Worth Having

May 2016 •English

The Arctic is accessible to man only because of ice dogs. As hunters, haulers, and guardians, they have been our vital link to nature for thousands of years. Dogs led the Sarqaq people out of Siberia and, a millennium later, led explorers to the North Pole. As the light returns to Greenland, we arrive in Scoresbysund with a troop of the only companions worth having in this harsh environment.

Češi na pólech

October 2007 •Czech

Charcot: Secret Poles

October 2016 •French

The adventures and exploits of Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936), an intrepid scientist and explorer who laid the foundations of modern oceanography.

Voyage of the Nautilus

February 2006 •English

A photographic journey compiled from journals, archival footage and photographs of an Australian military photographer, Sir Hubert Wilkins in 1931 as he went from New York to the North Pole in an old WWI submarine to explore the Arctic Ocean. Included on dvd are a brief history of the submarine and photographic gallery of Wilkins.

Persistencia

July 2016 •Spanish

In Antarctica, an artist prepares his installation simultaneously with a group of scientists conducting research. An essay on the persistence and loneliness of the creative act; like the flight of a butterfly in chaos theory or a silent prayer. A sensory experience. A visual poem made of ice, snow and wind.

Isöken

September 2022 •French

Three Frenchmen go out on their first polar expedition to the largest polar desert in the world. Sarek, in the north of Sweden.

Camp Century: The Hidden City Beneath the Ice

January 2020 •German

How in 1959, during the heat of the Cold War, the government of the United States decided to create a secret military base located in the far north of Greenland: Camp Century, almost a real town with roads and houses, a nuclear plant to provide power and silos to house missiles aimed at the Soviet Union.

Polar Bear - Spy on the Ice

February 2011 •English

Shot mainly using spy cameras, this film gets closer than ever before to the world's greatest land predator. As the film captures its intimate portrait of polar bears' lives, it reveals how their intelligence and curiosity help them cope in a world of shrinking ice.

Life of Ivanna

October 2021 •Russian

A sensitive and intimate portrait of Ivanna, a nomadic reindeer herder in the Russian Arctic and mother of five small kids. Ivanna is forced to leave the traditional way of life and emigrate to the city, following her own dreams, due to the quickly deteriorating conditions of life in the tundra. We follow her life for several years.

To the Arctic 3D

April 2012 •English

A journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her two seven-month-old cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home.

Elementa

July 2020 •English

A black-and-white visual meditation of wilderness and the elements. Wildlife filmmaker Richard Sidey returns to the triptych format for a cinematic experience like no other.