Life on Earth begins and ends with Greenland. Researcher Minik Rosing’s landmark discovery of the first life contrasts with the melting ice masses in Ivalo Frank’s tribute to her beautiful homeland.
Our most basic understanding of the origins of life was recently turned upside down when Greenlandic scientist Minik Rosing discovered the first traces of life on Earth in a small fjord near Isua. His discovery predated all previous traces of life by over 300 million years. Life began in Greenland. But at the same time, its melting ice masses are accelerating day by day, and scientists around the world agree that it could drown our entire civilization if it is allowed to continue. The end of life as we know it will stem from Greenland. Director Ivalo Frank’s new film is a tribute to her vast, scenic country, caught between two extremes: the beginning and the end of life on Earth as we know it. Between the dizzying concept of deep time and the acceleration of modernity, Frank’s film anchors itself in its own moment through the encounter with a group of children from the village of Kangaatsiaq who fall in love, form friendships and struggle with loss and longing.
Our most basic understanding of the origins of life was recently turned upside down when Greenlandic scientist Minik Rosing discovered the first traces of life on Earth in a small fjord near Isua. His discovery predated all previous traces of life by over 300 million years. Life began in Greenland. But at the same time, its melting ice masses are accelerating day by day, and scientists around the world agree that it could drown our entire civilization if it is allowed to continue. The end of life as we know it will stem from Greenland. Director Ivalo Frank’s new film is a tribute to her vast, scenic country, caught between two extremes: the beginning and the end of life on Earth as we know it. Between the dizzying concept of deep time and the acceleration of modernity, Frank’s film anchors itself in its own moment through the encounter with a group of children from the village of Kangaatsiaq who fall in love, form friendships and struggle with loss and longing.
| Original title | Siunissaq – det sidste menneske |
|---|---|
| Danish title | Siunissaq – det sidste menneske |
| Keywords | Greenland, Young people, Dreams of the future, Geology, Life, Space, Human being, The, Nature, 2020-2030 |
| Director | Ivalo Frank |
| Screenplay | Ivalo Frank, Nicholas Alan |
| Producer | Rie Hougaard, Ivalo Frank, Ulannaq Ingemann, Rikke Tambo Andersen |
| Director of Photography | Ulannaq Ingemann, Agapi Triantafillidis |
| Editor | Helle le Fevre, Phil Jandaly |
| Sound | Frank Mølgaard Knudsen, Frank Mølgaard Knudsen, Kasper Rasmussen |
| Appearance | Sophia Martinsen Kielsen, Malu Larsen, Alan Jensen, Kunuk Adelholm |
| Production country | Denmark |
| Comment |
Ivalo Frank is born in Greenland, raised in Denmark and has during the past ten years worked intensively in Greenland and with Greenland both as a documentary film maker, artist and in writing. In her work, she has sought to nuance the medias image and portrayal of Greenland and give the international community a rare insight in Greenland. In her first film, "Faith, Hope and Greenland" portrays Greenlandic contemporary artists. Later, she worked with Greenland's most dangerous criminals in a film that takes place at the closed section R3 in Risskov Denmark, as well as in Herstedvester prison Denmark. Today, Greenland is back in focus, this time because of the ice melting and threatening the rest of the world with destruction. The director wants to make a portrait of Greenland as the focal point, which has raison d'etre in the youth activism and optimism. A film about life, when confronted with death. |
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