Alaska News

Documentary from Swiss filmmaker captures life in Barrow

With the recent barrage of sometimes bizarre, often overwrought Alaska-based reality television shows comes a breath of fresh Arctic air.

A new feature-length documentary in the works by acclaimed Swiss director Nick Brandestini, "Children of the Arctic," looks mostly at life in Barrow through the eyes of Inupiaq teenagers, with a focus on whaling and subsistence living.

After his first documentary, "Darwin" -- named for a town of 35 residents in Death Valley, California -- was released a few years back, Brandestini, 39, was looking for his next project. He was invited to Whitehorse, Yukon, for a screening of "Darwin."

And while he couldn't make the trek north for the film festival, he was intrigued by invitations emblazoned with happy, parka-clad visitors on dog teams surrounded by snowy peaks and northern lights.

He knew soon after that his next project would focus on the Arctic, he said from Zurich last week.

"I wanted to find out more about the high Arctic," he said. "I did some research and found out more about the lifestyle. I realized that this is something that people would like to see."

But walking into Barrow with a camera pointed at residents, no matter what they're doing, typically doesn't go over well. Brandestini knew that portraying Inupiaq culture genuinely and compassionately would be a delicate feat.

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His last film showcased the people of a small, desolate town with no services and no shortage of interesting characters, revealing them not as spectacles but for who they truly were: unique people with unique stories.

The Los Angeles Times wrote: "'Darwin' is a beautiful, elegiac work with unexpected impact and meaning." The New York Times said: "We can only marvel at their candor when faced with Nick Brandestini's camera."

Not bad for a first-time documentarian. And with that experience under his belt, Brandestini and his producer, who is also his sister, landed in Barrow for the first time in March 2012.

"At that time we knew we were going to film in Barrow, but we didn't know what the documentary was going to be about," he said.

Over the next year and a half, Brandestini went back to Barrow eight times by himself, armed with his camera and his curiosity.

"At the time, people didn't really know what the film was going to be about, but there were no negative reactions," he said. "I really wanted to show the whaling activity and I got permission to do that."

He went to a meeting of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association to get the nod to film the spring harvest.

"I explained that I was interested in showing the whaling as something very important in the community and the film, and that I (wasn't) going to show this as something bad."

The spring harvest in 2013 was a difficult one for Barrow whalers, but the fall harvest produced more whales for the community, and Brandestini had the chance to experience, and film, the challenges and triumphs of whale hunting on the North Slope.

"I was very patient because, like I said, I didn't want to just come in and film and leave. I knew this was going to be a long-term project."

For the most part, Brandestini didn't have an agenda for the film. He wanted people around the world to get a glimpse of one facet of life in the Arctic. For most people, he said, the film will show something completely new and perhaps give unfamiliar viewers a chance to experience a part of the world they may never otherwise see.

"It's not an issue film or a political film, it's just a social film," he said. "I tried to make it artistic in a way, so that there's nice imagery and nice music and nice scenes. What I think people will take away from this is that the whaling and the hunting, the subsistence way of life, is something that is very important. Audiences will completely get that."

Just as important as the hunting process is the distribution of meat and the celebration that follows, which for Brandestini was very moving.

"You really got a sense of community," he said, adding that he filmed the cheering and the prayer, given in Inupiaq, as well.

A few of the stars are teenagers from Barrow, one of whom came up with the title for the documentary.

Brandestini spent most of his time in Barrow but also traveled to Point Lay for filming.

The film is in its final editing stage and is expected to be released late this year or early in 2015.

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Brandestini got some support from Swiss public television and is expecting the picture to be seen at film festivals around the world, including a stop in Barrow for a screening.

"It is about young people, but it's about the community in general," he said.

For more information go to https://www.facebook.com/childrenofthearctic

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