Trailer from 2008 Scouting Mission
The short trailer above is a small sample of the sights and sounds of The Northwest Passage captured in summer 2008, during the project's scouting/research mission. Theobald and his crew will depart for the Arctic once again June 15, 2009 to film the final documentary. Theobald explains the scope of the final documentary as follows. More can be found on the project blog or signup for updates and announcements about this mission. More can be found on the project blog or signup for updates and announcements about this mission.
The aim of the trip is to not only travel to and through The Passage and document it, but to meet the denizens of the area, find out about their lives above the Arctic Circle, try and learn how the recent climatic changes have effected their lives, what they noticed, if anything. I want to learn what their feelings are about what may become of their home, their pristine ecology, and their livelihoods if and when shipping and exploration make themselves known. I'd also like to follow the route The Franklin Expedition took and try to convey through the moving image how it is that such a large expedition can simply vanish. When Franklin and his mean set out for The Passage it was that century's equivalent to one of the first moon shots for us. To this day those waters are for the most part uncharted and transiting them will present very obvious and present dangers, yet we have electronics that can guide us from the heavens and see what waits beneath.
With Forward Looking Sonar we can see 200 ahead of us and make a navigational decision before calamity. Franklin and his men and those who followed, had none of this. They were true heroes & and they had backing. Our route is to leave Newport, RI, for Halifax, Upernuvik Greenland, enter Lancaster Sound, go down Peel Sound to King William Island, head out through the Bering Sea, cut through the Aleutians, Alaska and get into Seattle the end of October. Click to see the route the documentary crew will take.
