Océans Takes France by Storm

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you’ve already heard about Océans, actor, director and producer Jacques Perrin’s exploration of the 71 percent of the earth’s surface that is covered by the sea.

A recent story in Time notes,

[The] spectacular new French maritime documentary. . . has done not only twice as much business as [the George Clooney vehicle] Up in the Air since both movies were released on Jan. 27, but is also looking to set a new mark for nature films when it rolls out internationally in the coming months.

Océans is no Jacques Cousteau rehash, and its environmental message, while alarming, doesn’t impose the sense of doom central to recent films like Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth or Frenchman Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Home. Instead it seduces the viewer to the maritime cause with awe-inspiring imagery, creating an almost emotional attachment between viewer and cinematic object by bringing the camera into astonishing intimacy with erstwhile unapproachable beings. At one point, a mother walrus hugs her baby protectively as she swims. At another, a diver caresses and plays with an 18-foot, 1-ton great white shark nicknamed “Lady Mystery.”

As we noted in our November 2009 newsletter, we’re proud to have worked with Océans’ producers and filmakers throughout the Arctic, helping them to get some of the spectacular footage that has made this one of the most exciting nature documentaries to hit the international scene in recent years. The film hits North American theaters this Earth Day (April 22, 2010). We can’t wait to see the finished product!

Desafio Extremo: Vote Arctic

Last week, we featured some footage from the Spanish television show Desafio Extremo, which features travel adventures all over the globe. Arctic Kingdom had the pleasure of bringing the Desafio Extremo crew north for their Buceo Ártico episode, and we’re really excited with the moments they were able to capture on film.

Over on the Desafio Extremo website, they’re hosting a poll, where viewers can vote for their favorite trip from the current season. Personally, we’re partial to one episode in particular. But really, can you blame us?

In the video below (Jesús y María al final logran encontrarse con los narvales) Jesús and Maria encounter a narwhal at last. There’s gorgeous underwater footage leading up to it, but, if you’re too impatient, skip to 2:30 to see the whale!

Vote Arctic! Vote Often!

Desafio Extremo: Buceo Artico

Long-time readers of the Arctic Kingdom blog might remember this post, where I mentioned that expedition Expedition Manager Tom Lennartz was up on the ice near Baffin Island with a then-unnamed Spanish film crew.

Well, the footage from that expedition — part of the series Desafio Extremo, or Extreme Challenge — is now online. And it’s pretty spectacular, capturing both the beauty and danger of diving beneath the Arctic ice.

Check out the videos online here, and if you read Spanish (or feel like cheating, as I did, with a free online translator) you can read Jesús Calleja’s account of the adventure on his blog, which really captures the adrenaline of piloting a snowmobile across the sea ice, as well as the combination of on-the-ice flexibility and strong infrastructure needed to pull off a filming expedition to the Arctic!

Here’s a teaser for the show. Visit the Desafino Extremo site for more photos and footage of the adventure!