Worlds of Ice

Santa's Wild Home

November 2020 •English

Green lights dance across a star-filled sky, and snowflakes sparkle on the trees. It is little wonder Lapland is famous as a realm of elves and flying reindeer, the magical home of Santa Claus. This northernmost region of mainland Europe, however, is a real place, with real animals such as reindeer, Great Gray owls, wolverines, eagles, wolves, musk oxen and Brown bears who live out their lives in the tundra and forest.

Edge of Ice

January 1986 •English

This feature documentary highlights the nature of Arctic sea ice, and its crucial importance to life in the Far North. Underwater photography presents rare views of some of the most spectacular wildlife, with micro- and macro-photography enhancing the world within the individual ice crystals. Footage from Inuit hunting camps at the floe’s edge illuminate the relationship between the Arctic people and their intricate ecosystem.

Planets of the Sun

January 1985 •English

An Educational Favorites VHS from the NATURE SERIES featuring Leonard Nimoy

Encounters at the End of the World

September 2007 •English

Herzog and cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger go to Antarctica to meet people who live and work there, and to capture footage of the continent's unique locations. Herzog's voiceover narration explains that his film will not be a typical Antarctica film about "fluffy penguins", but will explore the dreams of the people and the landscape.

White Planet, our South Pole

June 2013 •Catalan

Planeta Blanc is a documentary about the first-ever disabled expedition to conquer the South Pole ,Following the last steps of Ernest Shackleton. A history about the capacity of the handicapped.

The Great Achievement

September 1958 •English

A documentary about New Zealanders in Antarctica: researching International Geophysical Year, and supporting the Trans-Antarctic Expedition by laying supply depots for Vivian Fuchs’ overland crossing.

End to End: Svalbard

November 2023 •English

Seven adventurers embark on an expedition in the world's most hostile environment, The Arctic. Starting from the Southernmost peninsula of Spitsbergen Svalbard, they travel to the Northernmost part of the Island lasting for 40 days.

Mars: a Traveller's Guide

September 2017 •English

Niaise pas avec la Puck

January 2023 •French

Snowfall

October 2022 •English

As a winter storm approaches the shallow water crystallizes, ice builds up along the edges of a stream, and the first snowflakes of the storm layer over the newly formed ice. The following morning a soft light approaches through the snow covered forest.

Close-Up on Planets

September 1982 •English

Computer animation and footage from NASA space missions explain how our solar system evolved and the place Earth has within the system.

Les Secrets des Animaux des Glaces

January 2017 •French

The Farthest

March 2018 •English

The captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity's greatest achievements in exploration: NASA's Voyager mission.

Children of Stars

October 2023 •Norwegian

Astrophysicist Jean Surdej brings a small group of teenage pupils on a trip to the Lofoten islands in northern Norway, for a very special class on the solar system. Using the geography of the archipelago to illustrate the distances between the planets, they journey through space by car and ferry, with the picturesque landscapes standing in for the black emptiness that surround the heavenly bodies. A masterstroke of both pedagogy and filmmaking, Children of Stars is a captivating documentary about humanity's place in the grand scheme of things.

The White Planet

March 2006 •French

The White Planet or in French, La Planète Blanche, is a 2006 documentary about the wildlife of the Arctic. It shows interactions between marine animals, birds and land animals, especially the polar bear, over a one year period. The fragility of the Arctic is hinted at as a reason to prevent climate change. It was nominated for the Documentary category in the 27th Genie Awards in 2007.

The Lonely Dorymen

April 1968 •English

For more than four centuries, young Portuguese fishermen have followed their fathers to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and in recent years to Greenland’s banks to fish the cold waters for cod. Intrepid men, set off for the Banks on schooners under full sail, then adrift in a flat-bottomed dory, they bait the hundred of hooks of their long-line, oblivious to fog, rain and Arctic wind, they labour 18 hours a day and haul up cod by the score.

The Lucy Mission: Origins of the Solar System

January 2022 •English

For two and a half years we followed the scientific team of the NASA Lucy Mission a mission that will unveil the origins of the Solar System and shared with them the many challenges they had to overcome such as a countdown to launch on time the building of the huge solar arrays or a pandemic.

Stargazing Challenges

January 2012 •English

Blue Peter presenters Helen Skelton and Barney Harwood want to learn more about the solar system so they challenge scientists Helen Czerski and Jem Stansfield to find out more. They look at how to make telescopes and rockets, and use a toilet roll to measure the distances between planets.

People of the Seal, Part 1: Eskimo Summer

January 1971 •English

The first of two coproductions by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the National Film Board of Canada, People of the Seal, Part 1: Eskimo Summer is compiled from some of the most vivid footage ever filmed of the life of the Netsilik Inuit in the Kugaaruk region (formerly Pelly Bay) of the Canadian Arctic. The original films of the Netsilik series attempted to recreate the traditional lifestyle of Netsilingmiut living there. They show the incredible resourcefulness of the Netsilik (People of the Seal) who have adapted to one of the world's harshest environments. Part 1: Eskimo Summer shows how Inuit families prepare for winter by hunting seal, birds and caribou and by fishing for Arctic Char during the extended hours of daylight.

Greenland: in the Glare of Ice

December 2020 •German

Greenland is the largest island in the world and the landmass closest to the North Pole. 80% of the country is covered by a layer of ice up to 3000 meters thick. Through the eyes of locals we get to know the authentic Greenland.