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Silent Snow

A film by Jan van den Berg en Pipaluk Knudsen-Ostermann. A drsFILM production.

Partners: Boeddhistische Omroep Stichting (BOS), Lichtpunt (Canvas België), Rotterdams Media Fonds, TVP Polen, Jade Foundation, CoBO fonds, Jacob Gelt Dekker, de NCDO, DHV, Limits to Earth, ASN Bank, Mosa Tiles, and Greenpeace.


Pipaluk KO on sledge
Pipaluk Knudsen-Ostermann on Silent Snow: “Our life is threatened by dangerous pesticides. As a young woman who would like to have a child in the future, I was very worried and wanted to make this film in order to search for answers and solutions”.

The Arctic plains are an eminent example of nature’s untouched beauty: an endless nothing in which only few know how to survive. But a silent assassin is destroying the Inuit community. Chemical residues from all over the world accumulate here invisibly, poisoning both humans and animals. By ocean currents and attached to snow, pesticides like DDT are carried northbound into Inuit land, causing illness and premature death.

 

Jan van den Berg and drsFILM

Writers, artists and filmmakers work together in this Dutch production company, founded by Jan van den Berg. DrsFILM made many documentaries and drama productions. The films are mostly about people at the cutting edge between cultures. The films are shown in festivals and broadcasted around the world. In 2004, Jan van den Berg won a Golden Calf for his film ‘Deacon of Death’ at the Dutch Film Festival.

 

Jan van den Berg on Silent Snow: “The discrepancy between the magnificence of this seemingly untouched white land and the steady but invisible destruction of this area by developments elsewhere in the world is the essential drama I wished to capture. Together with Pipaluk, I wanted to find out why this is happening and understand the perspective’s of the different people involved; the victims, the producers, and those who try to fight for solutions”.