The Lonely Dorymen

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.

Against the Tide

January 2023 •Marathi

Two friends, both Indigenous fishermen, are driven to desperation by a dying sea. Their friendship begins to fracture as they take very different paths to provide for their struggling families.

Cries from the Deep

July 1981 •French

This documentary records the journey undertaken by Jacques Cousteau, his 24-member team, and an NFB film crew to explore the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, one of the world's richest fishing areas. They discover shipwrecks, film icebergs and observe beluga whales, humpback whales and harp seals. The film also includes a fascinating sequence showing Calypso divers freeing a calf whale entrapped in a fishing net.

Violated Paradise

June 1963 •English

A modern geisha travels through Japan trying to find a job as entertainer, and ends up by finding love and a job as ama, a pearl diver.

Threatened: The Controversial Struggle of the Southern Sea Otter

April 2013 •English

Sea otters are once again in peril after being brought back from the brink of extinction. An unprecedented number of sea otter deaths have occurred along the California coast in the last three years. Meanwhile, the Fish & Wildlife Services decision to eliminate their No Otter Zone from Southern California waters remains controversial. This fragile species threatened by pollution, infectious diseases, starvation, and competition with fishermen struggles for survival.

Babouchka: The North Pole - A Return to Hell

September 2014 •French

To be the first in history of mankind to take a sailing vessel to the Pole. One of the greatest maritime adventures ever undertaken: to cross the Arctic Ocean from one Land to the Other without assistance.

La Voie arctique - Trois hommes à travers les glaces

October 2020 •French

The Pearl Fishers

May 1960 •Japanese

Documentary about Japanese pearl fishers.

HAND. LINE. COD.

September 2016 •English

In the coldest waters surrounding Newfoundland's rugged Fogo Island, "people of the fish"—traditional fishers—catch cod live by hand, one at a time, by hook and line. After a 20-year moratorium on North Atlantic cod, the stocks are returning. These fishers are leading a revolution in sustainability, taking their premium product directly to the commercial market for the first time. Travel with them from the early morning hours, spend time on the ocean, and witness the intricacies of a 500-year-old tradition that's making a comeback.

To the Sea

February 2010 •Spanish

Before leaving for Rome with his mother, five year old Natan is taken by his father, Jorge, on an epic journey to the pristine Chinchorro reef off the coast of Mexico. As they fish, swim, and sail the turquoise waters of the open sea, Natan discovers the beauty of his Mayan heritage and learns to live in harmony with life above and below the surface, as the bond between father and son grows stronger before their inevitable farewell.

Aberdeen

January 1970 •English

Explore the growth of Aberdeen’s sparkling streets.

Land of Little Rivers

October 2019 •English

The Land of Little Rivers, a network of tributaries in the Catskill Mountains of New York, is the birthplace of fly fishing in America and home to anglers obsessed by the sport.

The Arctic: 66.5 Degrees North

January 2023 •German

The beauty of the Arctic is breathtaking. For as long as we can remember, the Arctic has been associated with inhospitable cold. But the climate is changing, and with it the northern polar region, which begins beyond latitude 66.5 degrees north. Climate change is now happening four times faster north of the Arctic Circle than on the rest of the planet, making the future outlook dire. At the moment it is still possible for polar bears to raise their cubs, but hunting is becoming increasingly difficult on the drastically shrinking pack ice. The disappearance of the ice also affects the marine fauna. The wintry ice bridge between Canada and Greenland is threatened with collapse. The unstoppable melting of the permafrost, which has held the tundra together for thousands of years, is worrying. But the Arctic is still one of the wildest and loveliest regions on earth. A documentary visit to the Arctic - as long as it still exists.

Wenn die Arktis schmilzt

March 2025 •German

High Tide in Newfoundland

January 1955 •English

Bonefish and Barracuda

October 1955 •English

Fishing tips from Lee Wulff. Filmed off the coast of Florida.

Bear Witness

April 2022 •English

The film Journeys alongside the filmmakers behind Disneynature’s “Polar Bear” as they face profound challenges 300 miles from the North Pole. The team, who created a revolutionary arctic camp on site, navigated virtually impassible snow drifts and tenuous sea ice, garnering unprecedented footage revealing adaptive behaviors that surprised even this veteran team of filmmakers.

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.

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.

The Land That Devours Ships

January 1984 •English

For almost a century and a half, Her Majesty's Ship Breadalbane lay wrecked and forgotten under the Arctic ice. In the spring of 1983, noted undersea explorer Dr. Joseph MacInnis led a team of twenty men on one of the most difficult, dangerous and unforgettable undersea adventures of the century--to put a diver on board the sunken vessel and recover some artifacts. This film, introduced by H.R.H. Prince Charles, provides a stunning visual account of this historic expedition.