Chasing Ice

Director: Jeff Orlowski
Total Running Time: 80 minutes
Release Date: 2012
Study Guide: Download Here

Synopsis
In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk. Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers. As the debate polarizes America and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Balog finds himself at the end of his tether. Battling untested technology in subzero conditions, he comes face to face with his own mortality. It takes years for Balog to see the fruits of his labor. His hauntingly beautiful videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. Chasing Ice depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet.

Awards
2012 Sundance Film Festival – Excellence in Cinematography Award: US Doc
2012 Environmental Media Association’s 22nd Annual Best Documentary Award
2012 South By Southwest Film Festival – Audience Award
2012 Hot Docs Film Festival – Audience Award
2012 River Run Film Festival – Audience Award
2012 Palo Alto Film Festival – Audience Award
2012 Berwick Film Festival – Audience Award
2012 Port Townsend Film Festival – Audience Award
2012 DocuWest Film Festival – Audience Award
2012 Take One Action Film Festival – Audience Award
2012 Brattleboro Film Festival – Audience Award
2012 Seattle Film Festival (Runner-up Audience Award) – Audience Award
2012 Berkshire Film Festival – Best Documentary
2012 Big Sky Film Festival – Best Documentary
2012 MountainFilm in Telluride – Norman Vaughan Indomitable Spirit Award
2012 Full Frame Film Festival – Nicholas School Environmental Award
2012 Cinemambiente – Jury Special Mention Prize and Turin Province Student Council Award
2012 Boulder Film Festival – Best Adventure Film
2012 Docuwest Film Festival – Best Feature Length Film and Best Featured Film
2012 Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award

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