LORDS OF THE ARCTIC | directed by Caroline Underwood
» Read the interview with the director
This
film focuses on Northern wildlife and its close and tragic relation to climate
change, which affects all of the Arctic's fragile ecosystems. The example
of the polar bear, studied by biologists for the past 20 years, is revealing.
Scientists are also concerned about the precarious situation of bowhead whales
and belugas, not to mention seals, walruses and many species of birds. Are
the lords of the Arctic in danger of ending their reign over their kingdom
of ice and snow?
Following the six seasons of the Inuit culture, Caroline Underwood proposes an in-depth exploration of the world of Arctic wildlife by presenting animals as the first victims of a system in flux. A wildlife specialist, Caroline uses a global approach in treating her subjects. Her films have always been recognized for their originality and have received numerous honours on the international scene.
Caroline Underwood
Since 1982, Caroline Underwood has worked as a director, producer and screenwriter for the CBC series The Nature of Things, hosted by David Suzuki. She is particularly interested in wildlife and environmental subjects.
One of her most successful films is Up Close and Personal: The Ecology of David Suzuki, which she made in 1999. It has received numerous awards and nominations: a Golden Sheaf for Best Science & Nature film at Yorkton; a Bronze Plaque at the Columbus International Film & Video Festival; a Gemini Award nomination; a nomination and three Merit Awards at the International Wildlife Film Festival; and a nomination at Hot Docs.
In 2001, she directed The Salmon Forest, which looks at the temperate rainforest of northern British Columbia and reveals for the first time the complex links between the salmon and the trees. Her 1998 film The Way of the Caribou describes the epic migration of the largest herd of Labrador and Quebec caribou. In 1994, she made Hidden World of the Bog, which uncovers the little-known story of the preservation of Canadian, American and Irish peat bogs.