On Thin Ice

Climate change has reached the indigenous Nenets people in northern Siberia. The nomads' reindeer herds now move across thinning ice. Warming in the Russian Arctic is becoming increasingly visible, with large craters forming in thawing permafrost and exposing dangerous viruses and bacteria. Forest floors are drying out, leading to fires in the taiga. Coastal pack ice is melting, depriving polar bears of their habitat and forcing them to approach human settlements. The environmental changes in the Arctic, combined with scientific measurements and the observations of indigenous people, present a troubling picture: in the Russian Arctic, Pandora's box appears to have been opened. The film team was able to shoot in regions that had been restricted for decades. The documentary presents existing effects, phenomena, and ominous interconnections of global warming through striking and sobering imagery.