Life on Ice

Traces the 2,000-mile, 15-day voyage of the Freya, a small three-hulled sailing ship, from the Bahamas to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, following the path of the Gulf Stream. Uses animation, infrared satellite transmissions, and time-lapse photography to explain the origin, nature, and importance of the current, as well as its oceanographic, meteorologic, and ecological aspects.

This feature documentary highlights the nature of Arctic sea ice, and its crucial importance to life in the Far North. Underwater photography presents rare views of some of the most spectacular wildlife, with micro- and macro-photography enhancing the world within the individual ice crystals. Footage from Inuit hunting camps at the floe’s edge illuminate the relationship between the Arctic people and their intricate ecosystem.