What was the starting point for this film?
In this film I sketch out the mythology of ice. Travelling to the edge of the known and seeing what lies beyond; that's the driving force of the polar traveller. He sheds his identity (temporarily) and goes in search of new horizons in order to make new discoveries about our world.
There are, by definition, no words or images for the unknown; that's something I want to change with this film. The last thing I want to do is take away the magic of the Artic desert; I want to honour it. What lies beyond the last iceberg is veiled in various shades of white.
Desert 79 is part 2 of a trilogy. What was your plan when you began the series?
Nature is made up of forests, mountains and icy seas. As soon as you put one of these into a frame it becomes culture. A landscape is a way of seeing the world, projected on to nature. Each landscape calls to mind its own images and stories that are handed down through generations. There are variations but the essence remains the same. The landscape myth helps people to understand their own culture.
Nature is under enormous pressure. Our country will be underwater, forests will be cut down, ice will melt - many people know that this will have economic, geological and biological consequences. Are they also aware of the consequences for our feeling of oneness with our surroundings; of who we are and where we come from? I try to provoke thoughts about this with three short films. The first is about forest mythology (the fear of becoming lost and meeting strange creatures), the second is about the ice (wanting to look beyond the boundaries of the known world) and the third film.....hmmmm.
Do you have any anecdotes bout the making of the film?
When Sam, our sound man, heard a seal under our ship calling to its mate he went up on deck with a microphone and recording equipment. The amorous singer swam around the ship courting us. It was beautiful outside: the sun stood halfway between the heavens and the horizon and the glacier next to which our ship was moored threw long shadows onto the fjord. It was three in the morning.
How important is it to you and your work that this film is in the Short Film competition of the IFFR?
Very important! Working for the Filmbank in the last years I've clearly seen that a premiere at an international film festival can do wonders for the exposure, distribution and screening possibilities for your film. It's almost like a seal of approval: "approved by the association of film programmers". Whether you agree with this or not, it's a fact.
What do you do when you're not making films?
I do everything that has anything to do with experimental and artistic films: give lessons, distribution, programming, writing about the subject and of course I watch a lot of films.
Is there anything you want to tell the audience before they see the film?
Everything I want to tell them is in the film.
What other projects are keeping you busy?
Thanks to a rebuilt pin-hole camera, part three of the trilogy is growing frame by frame. It takes place on a mythological mountain. Up until now we've been filming in the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Dolomites. I'm keeping the theme a secret.