Once upon a time in the Arctic

Synopsis

The Arctic is melting, polar bears are dying and the ice floes are on the point of disappearing. It might be sad but in the end it is all a question of point of view because the effects of climate change are opening up to the world all the riches of the Arctic Ocean; petrol; gold; fisheries science; new trade routes…the Arctic rush is in full swing. But the South has quickly forgotten the people that already live there. Inuits, Nenets and Koriaks are racing too, in their own way. It is a race against time and for the essentials; to hunt, to eat, to live! Two different worlds are rubbing shoulders together: it is the pioneers versus the natives, black gold versus the white bear. Director Christopher Cousin followed in the footsteps of those rushing north to bring a frank portrait of the Arctic Ocean. In his film, the stories of four people alternate: Inuits on the hunt with their dog-sledges out on the ice floes; 130 Chinese millionaires aboard the world’s largest nuclear ice breaker on route to the Geographic North Pole; The Nenets following the thousands of reindeer as they migrate through the gas pipelines of the Yamal region; The Canadian Army on operation Nunalivut, seeking to impose their superiority on the most northerly territory of the country. Four stories that tell of what is at stake in the Arctic of tomorrow in the hope of understanding where the world is headed. Each has their quest, their fears and their dreams. We go up close with the players with hope in sight, in spite of it all…

Web site of Christophe COUSIN

Prix obtenus

-Prix du “Meilleur Scénario” & Prix de la “Ville d’Hendaye – France 3 Euskal Herri” à la 9ème EDITION du FILMAR, Festival international du film de la mer et de ses environnements 2016