Big Alaska: Modern Day Pioneers(2010)

Grizzly Man(en)

Werner Herzog's documentary film about the "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in one man's attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.

Alaska's Silent Summer(en)

In 2019, 1.2 million people stepped off a cruise ship into the small, south-east Alaskan town of Ketchikan. The next year, in 2020, zero did. After decades of diligent work building a sleepy fishing, mining, and logging town into one of the most sought after cruise destinations in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed Ketchikan into an empty shell—lined with restaurants, shops, and attractions for the visitors who no longer come. Now, the town must find a way to survive without its key economy until the day arrives when cruise visitors once again pour into its docks.

The Strait Guys(en)

THE STRAIT GUYS follows Czech-born mining engineer, George, and his fast-talking protégé, Scott, along the proposed route of the InterContinental Railway through Alaska, to the Bering Strait and onward to Russia. The “Strait Guys” endeavor to convince international governments, corporations, and indigenous tribes to green-light their $100 billion railway project, which would provide ground-based infrastructure across the continents, relieve overcrowded Pacific ports, improve global supply chains, and ease tensions between the superpowers. The US and Russia have been successfully collaborating in space for decades. Now the Strait Guys are out to prove it is also possible down here on earth.

Sitka and Juneau: 'A Tale of Two Cities'(en)

This Traveltalk series short takes the viewer to Alaska, focusing on the cities of Sitka and Juneau.

Alluring Alaska(en)

This Traveltalk series short introduces the viewer to Alaska.

First Descent(en)

First Descent is a 2005 documentary film about snowboarding and its beginning in the 1980s. The snowboarders featured in this movie (Shawn Farmer, Nick Perata, Terje Haakonsen, Hannah Teter and Shaun White with guest appearances from Travis Rice) represent three generations of snowboarders and the progress this young sport has made over the past two decades. Most of the movie was shot in Alaska.

Alaska: Spirit of the Wild(en)

Alaska... Here, in this vast and spectacularly beautiful land teeming with abundant wildlife, discover the "Spirit of the Wild." Experience it in the explosive calving of glaciers, the celestial fires of the Aurora Borealis. Witness it in the thundering stampede of caribou, the beauty of the polar bear and the stealthful, deadly hunt of the wolf pack.

Report from the Aleutians(en)

A documentary propaganda film produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps about the Aleutian Islands Campaign during World War II. The film opens with a map showing the strategic importance of the island, and the thrust of the 1942 Japanese offensive into Midway and Dutch Harbor. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Alaska and the Wilds Beyond(en)

Alaska Far Away(en)

'Alaska Far Away' tells the story of the Matanuska Colonization Project of 1935, a creative and controversial New Deal program that relocated 202 families devastated by the Great Depression, taking them from the upper Midwest to the Matanuska Valley in Alaska to start an experimental farming colony. It generated a whirlwind of publicity and controversy at the time, not only as a federally-funded social experiment, but also as one of the last pioneer movements in America. The Matanuska Colony isn't just a fascinating footnote to the history of Alaska. It encompasses the despair of the Depression, the creative energy of the New Deal, the adventure of pioneering in Alaska, and the best and worst of our government and ordinary citizens in facing those extraordinary challenges.

Children of the Arctic(en)

Children of the Arctic is a portrait of five Native Alaskan teenagers growing up in Barrow - the northernmost community in the United States. As their climate and culture undergo profound changes, they strive to balance being modern American kids and the inheritors of an endangered way of life.

Lines(en)

The documentary follows a crew of snowboarders for six weeks in the Chugach mountains, and showcases what it takes to ride these unique Alaskan mountains: the waiting, the stress, the dangers, everything that goes into it and is usually never shown. It also retraces some of the history of this unknown discipline and pays tribute to the pioneers. But the film really focuses on the human aspect and why these people do what they do.

Against the Tide(en)

A remote and wild island on the west coast of Scotland is home to a small group of people that live in deep connection with the land, the sea and the weather. For different reasons, they left their city life to escape their inner demons and to live as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible.

Beards and Beemers(en)

A mini documentary following a group of motorcycle adventurers on a four-day journey across south-central Alaska.

This Mountain Life(en)

A daughter and her 60-year-old mother embark on a 6 month, 2,300-kilometre ski trek through British Columbia’s rugged terrain.

The Man Who Lives with Bears(en)

A man shows the gentle and agressive side of Brown and Black Bears living with and around them. After "Grizzly Man" died in Alaska trying to do the same thing, it's truly amazing to watch this documentary.

Touching The Game Alaska(en)

Alaska may be best known as the land of moose, bears and intense winters, but few know about the hidden jewel that is the Alaska Baseball League. For the first time on film, Touching The Game Alaska takes a captivating inside look at this fascinating institution and its incredible history as a proving-ground for more than 500 Major Leaguers and Hall of Famers like Tom Seaver and Dave Winfield, many of whom appear in the film. This feature length documentary is highlighted by superb baseball, stunning imagery and humorous anecdotes, from planes crashing on fields during games to bear encounters to salmon fishing misadventures to the more than century old tradition of the Midnight Sun Game. Four years in the making, the film not only showcases baseball played in a place where the summer sun never sets, but also gives insight into the colorful, rugged and fiercely independent people of this frontier land.

The Cradle of Storms(en)

Alex Gray, Josh Mulcoy, and Pete Devries went on a journey through the remote Aleutian Arc of Alaska, the birthplace of storm systems that send swell back to the rest of us in civilization. They braved heavy weather, flew on rickety prop planes, and ate seal meat en route to discovering one of the best cold-water slabs in the world. The film follows the cold-water crew as they traverse the island on quad bikes, tracking pulses of swell to remote bays and never before surfed points. Set against the stunning volcanic backdrop of the Aleutian Islands, The Cradle of Storms is cold-water surf exploration at its finest.

Same Difference(en)

Freeride, Freestyle and Alpine racing united! Legs of Steel presents the multi-discipline ski film 'Same Difference’. True to the credo –‘a film about skiers’, this documentary will provides a one-of-a-kind view into skiing’s diversity. Follow Alpine race legend Felix Neureuther through a testing competitive season full of ultimate highs and lows. Take a ride with Fabian Lentsch, Bene Mayr & Sven Kueenle as they venture to the nerve centre of freeride skiing in Alaska, and watch on with anticipation as Freestyler Paddy Graham and his gang attempt to redefine gravity with the biggest jump ever attempted. The start gates and slopes are different and the rewards may seem wildly contrasting, but it’s all just skiing in the end.

Alaska, au pays des glaciers(fr)