Fascinating Antarctica

Whales blow their fountains into the sky, penguins jump into the water like small rockets, seals dive for crabs under the ice sheets. The Ross Sea is one of the last regions where the magic of the ice continent can still be experienced. But the consequences of climate change are slowly changing the environment. How many generations will still be able to experience the magic of Antarctica?

Year

2021

Length

86 min

Director

Tuan Lam

Antarctica’s desolation is nothing but an illusion. The ice continent is full of life and offers a biodiversity of which only about two percent is known. Most of it is under water and could determine the future of humans.

When the northern lights cover the ice landscape in summer, the animals in the Antarctic are in a paradisiacal state. Whales blow their meter-high fountains into the sky, penguins fly like small rockets into the water, seals dive for crabs under the glittering ice sheets.

The Ross Sea is one of the last areas where the magic of the ice continent can still be experienced. The film approaches this unique region via the sub-Antarctic islands of New Zealand. Here life is blooming, here it is green and free of ice. This is what Antarctica could have looked like before the continent split off from the supercontinent Gondwana 180 million years ago and drifted towards the South Pole.

The transformation is part of its essence, its biological diversity has remained to this day. From the Ross Sea bay to the ice shelf, from the huge penguin colonies to steaming volcanoes – each station opens a world full of surprises and full of life in rhythm with the ice.

But slowly the consequences of climate change are also becoming apparent on the Ross Sea. While some species are dying, others are spreading. This also destroys the ecological system of viruses and bacteria which can become life-threatening for humans. How many generations will still be able to experience the magic of Antarctica?

Credits

Directed by

Tuan Lam, Yves Simard

Cinematographer

Peter Thompson, Alexander Campbell

Edited by

Oliver Szyza

Music

Eike Hosenfeld, Ingo Ludwig Frenzel, Moritz Denis

Spreaker

Romanus Fuhrmann

Graphics

Bitteschön.tv

Colour grading

Christine Hiam

Sound

Maxim Romasevic, Henry Uhl

Expert advice by

Dr. Andreas Läufer, Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe
Dr. Klemens Pütz, Antarctic Research Trust
Prof. Dr. Angelika Brandt, Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Goethe Universität Frankfurt
Dr. Helena Herr, Universität Hamburg

Producer

Kerstin Meyer-Beetz, Spencer Stoner

Archive and Research

Pepa Kistner, Julia Krampe, James Muir, Peter Thompson

Postproduction

Xavier Agudo

Co-producer

Rachel Antony

Production Management

Kathrin Isberner (GBF), Katharina Krohmann (ZDF)

Editor

Marita Hübinger

Editorial Assistant

Nicole Schmode

Executive Producer

Christian Beetz

A production by Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion
In co-production with Greenstone TV and ZDF
In association with ARTE

Sales & distribution

Trailer

„Just in diesem Moment überraschen uns die aus dem Theaterbereich stammenden jungen Regisseure Hans Block und Moritz Riesewieck mit einem erstaunlichen Dokumentarfilm, der seit Monaten Publikum und Kritik auf den wichtigsten Festivals der Welt elektrisiert. Völlig zu Recht: Es ist, als würden einem die Scheuklappen weggerissen, als sähe man das, was sich seit Jahren direkt vor unseren Augen abspielt, zum ersten Mal unverschleiert... eine fesselnde ,Doku noir' mit höchstem Anspruch...Dieser Film müsste an allen Schulen gezeigt werden.“

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

17.05.2018