This Land

In March 2007, seven members of a Canadian army rangers unit went by snowmobile to the most northerly point of Canadian territory, just a few hundred kilometers from the North Pole. The idea behind the trip: if you don't actually inspect a piece of land, you can't really claim to own it. Filmmaker Dianne Whelan went along as a full member of the expedition. The interactive documentary This Land, which has also appeared as a regular film and a book, is the result of this challenging expedition: more than 2,000 kilometers through one of the most inhospitable landscapes in the world. We hear Whelan's personal story, which is not only about the privations of the 16-day journey, but also about her attempts as (in her own words) "a lesbian, whisky-drinking, weed-smoking filmmaker" to fit in with this otherwise all-male group. We also see the impressive photos she took along the way. The journey is split into 16 blocks, each covering one of the 16 days. Every day starts with a map overview of the section of the journey to be covered that day, as well as daily reports on the falling temperature, the rising number of daylight hours, and the decreasing number of kilometers as they gradually approach their destination.

Unfortunately, the technology used to make this interactive project available online is no longer supported. However, new solutions to preserve and update projects technically are continuously being explored within the interactive field. Whenever possible, we will bring this project back online.

For documentation and more information on the project, check out the links.