You mentioned there were bets around the McMurdo research station about how long you’d last in the field. What do you think that was about?
Scientists and their support people are the overwhelming majority in McMurdo—they come year after year and have their networks and know the lay of the land. So the Antarctic Program is not set up to cater to artists. When you arrive, you have a huge amount of new information to process and you find yourself on an incredibly fast learning curve to acclimate, not only to the physical conditions, but to the culture of the place, which has many layers of complexity. Everyone wants to make friends with you, but they also want to preserve their own territory. McMurdo is incredibly territorial.
But that’s one of the talents you have to have as a documentary filmmaker. You have to learn how to resolve the specific issues that you’re confronted with—for instance, the need to have recurring characters with a continuing story—with the environment you’re in. There was a kind of corporate culture of constant suspicion at McMurdo, so that sometimes made things difficult.
Yes, there was this bet. I found out about it from one of the scientists in the film, Adam Lewis, when I was back in New York. Apparently a lot of people entered into it. For the scientists we were with but also a lot of the people working in McMurdo, it was a rite of passage kind of thing. No one thought these New Yorkers / Parisian city types were going to hack it for seven weeks in below freezing temperatures in a tent without washing!
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Do you think it odd that the National Science Foundation (NSF) sent both you and Werner Herzog to film at McMurdo the same year?
I imagine that because of International Polar Year, NSF decided to bring down a couple of filmmakers to offer a range of perspectives. I don’t think they necessarily anticipated that this might create a competitive environment for financing the film and then releasing it to the public. But the minute I found out they were sending Herzog, I knew it would make it that much harder to get the film out. So I had to get creative about devising a distribution plan that allows us both plenty of space, and we will probably be rolling out the film in the coming months.
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Your film is about as different as imaginable from Herzog’s Encounters, which mocks the ‘quirky’ people, emphasizes ‘danger’ everywhere (guns, vehicle crashes, toxic gases, underwater sea monsters, etc), and also has annoying loud music. Ice People depicts normal people with genuine scientific interest going about their business in an awesome, beautiful, and mostly quiet location. Why do you think your projects are so different?
As you said, Herzog’s and my film are polar opposites! For instance, Herzog only spent a month on the ice, while I was there for four. Also, he spent time with many different people, a couple of days here and there, while in addition to two months in McMurdo as the sun was rising, I spent two full months with a small group in a tent. We also had very different goals—while he went after the types that go to the Ice, I was looking to bring back the most authentic possible representation of what it feels like to be in that massive uninhabited place with its cold silence, and to show the amazing drive and dedication it takes to explore that part of the world. These are very different perspectives, and I’m glad to say that, as I’m just beginning to show this to film critics, they are really appreciating the differences. So that’s gratifying. I’ve actually suggested to festival programmers that they program our films together and have us engage in a discussion about how you can make such different films on the same subject. I haven’t been able to convince anyone to do that yet, but it would be fun!
Why do you think there’s such of rush of Antarctica films recently? I have not seen the two others hitting the festivals now (The Last Continent and BLAST!), but they too sound like they emphasize danger and excitement more than the quiet. Do you think there’s a gendered aspect to this evocation of the ‘old Antarctic Explorer’ by making it seem dangerous/heroic to work there?
There has been a rush of Antarctica films lately and I imagine that has to do with International Polar Year. There’s also been a rush of science-related films, and of course, Antarctica is about science and exploration in a big way. This being said, you’re right, most of these films emphasize heroism and danger, and that’s definitely a guy thing! I was after conveying the real feeling of the place, with the rhythm, the cold, and the boredom—without being boring!
