Polar Sea 360

It’s not so long ago that the Northwest Passage – a route connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific through the arctic archipelago – was impassable owing to gigantic icebergs. Some years ago, the ice started melting and the route is now navigable. takes us on a multimedia expedition straight through the Arctic Ocean. The ice floes that loom in the distance, the expanses of sea and endless vistas make for breathtaking scenes. This documentary shows the transformation the Arctic area is undergoing and the influence this is having both on nature and the people who live there. Port Inland, for example, is home to a small Inuit community. They grew up as nomads, following and hunting herds of arctic deer, but now they are settled in small, Western-style houses and get their food from the supermarket. Their intimate relationship with nature is disappearing along with the melting ice. There are also positive consequences, however: shipping is flourishing in the area and Abby, a young Inuit woman, dreams of green trees in her village. Impressive 360-degree shots are combined with archive footage and photos. Together with an interactive website, the images provide a completely new way of watching a documentary – is really the first of its kind, anywhere.