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Tag: film

  • Award – winning CAFF film now available

    Award – winning CAFF film now available

    Bird flying over water

    The film “Status and Trends in Arctic Biodiversity” addresses current biodiversity issues in the Arctic, and ongoing pressures on its ecosystems. It highlights key issues that surfaced in the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. The film is a collaborative work of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) working group and UNEP GRID-Arendal.

    Emphasis is placed on the new set of challenges and stressors brought about by climate change and the increase of industrial activities in the region. In view of these challenges, CAFF has set out to provide policymakers and conservation managers with the best available scientific knowledge informed by traditional knowledge on Arctic biodiversity.

    The film was approved by Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials’ at their meeting in Haparanda in November 2012. Further the film was presented to the eight Arctic Ministers and six Indigenous Peoples representatives at the Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna 15 May 2013.

    “Status and Trends in Arctic Biodiversity” was also awarded first place in the documentary category at the Green Lens Environmental Film Festival which is an annual environmental film competition sponsored by the Northern Illinois University´s Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability and Energy.

    The film is available for the public and can be viewed here.

    Sources

    CAFF

    Arctic Council

  • Chasing Ice premiers

    Chasing Ice premiers

    Melting ice in GreenlandChasing Ice, a film by Jeff Orlowski, was premiered on December 14th. The movie follows photographer James Balog through his journey in the Arctic and his Extreme Ice Survey.

    Once a skeptic about Climate Change, Balog went on a mission to record climate change first hand. By deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers, he managed to put together amazing videos of climates effect in the Arctic.

    Orlowski followed Balog around the world and the result is the film, which has been shown on film festivals since this fall.

    The films website states: “Traveling with a team of young adventurers across the brutal Arctic, Balog risks his career and his well-being in pursuit of the biggest story facing humanity. As the debate polarizes America, and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Chasing Ice depicts a heroic photojournalist on a mission to deliver fragile hope to our carbon-powered planet.”

    Filming took place in various locations, not only in the Arctic. They include Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, Glacier National Park in Montana, the Alps, Bolivia and Canada.

    Speaking in a Q&A, director Orlowski described the biggest challenges of the shooting. “The biggest challenge was the harsh environments. We had weather as low as negative 30 degrees. One winter night in Greenland, I thought I was going to freeze to death in our cabin. Our heater was leaking gas so we decided to go to sleep without it. I woke up in the middle of the night from my own teeth chattering. I rubbed my body to stay warm, and suffered until sunrise. But as cold as it was, and as difficult as it may seem, that was all the fun stuff. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. I’d much rather be out shooting than editing!”

    Sources

    Chasing Ice

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