• The easiest ice to be melted is the ice on the ground, the hardest ice to be melted is the one in the heart of Man. Only by melting the ice in the heart of Man does Man have a chance to change and begin using his knowledge wisely.

    Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq, mentor of the project, healer and greenlandic shaman

  • I imagine that by the year 2030 there will be a retrospect: "What was it that happened in those years? How was our handling of climate change reflected in art? What remains?"

    – Nomi Baumgartl, photographer.

  • In a way, everything is energy. That’s what fascinates me about photography. How we manifest light into something permanent.

    – Sven Nieder, photographer

  • It will have an impact in other places when the ice sheet melts in the sun like this piece that I’m holding in my hand.

    Adam Lyberth

  • If it continues to get warmer, we will lose a lot of our culture. I wonder, for example, what will happen to dog sledding. It’s not like we had roads, you know.

    – Jørgen Kristensen, dog-sledding world champion.

  • My dream is that we use our teachings of the Old Ways and bring them into the future or the present.

    – Laali Lyberth

The Film

The history of the world has been settling on the Greenlandic ice sheet for millions of years. Massive glaciers constantly unearth long gone states of the planet.
The Kalaallit people have been inseparably connected to this „eternal ice“ for millennia.
In just a few short years, colonialism dramatically transitioned their culture to a modern life style. Today, as the foundation of their traditions is literally melting beneath their feet, a group of people is committed to conserving messages of this vanishing world.
Under the guidance of the Greenlandic elder Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq and with the aid of two photographers, people from all the social walks of Greenlandic life gather to illuminate glaciers and icebergs in star-lit nights.

Over a period of several years, director and cinematographer Yatri N. Niehaus accompanied the lighting project in Greenland.
There, the artists not only met the places, but also the people whose lives are affected by the melting of the ice today.

First-time filmmaker Yatri Niehaus’s non-traditional narrative creates an introspective cinematic experience with an ethereal score and captivating imagery.
The Kalaallit elders explain that by building a fire, others can behold their beauty while they behold the beauty of others.
This film sparks a true sense of connection by sharing the wisdom of the indigenous communities most impacted by the environmental devastation that marks our current world.

– Stephanie Owens, LA Film Festival Programmer