22/01/2026 - Sold by Lucky Number, the first fiction feature directed by the cinematographer is being produced by Ex Nihilo and Galatée Films, in co-production with Anorâk, Snowglobe and Pandora

A Danish territory currently hitting the global headlines owing to predatory American designs, Greenland will be the exclusive setting for the shoot of Pipaluk, The Girl Who Raced The Wind. This is the first fiction feature directed by Thierry Machado, who’s well known as a director of photography (awarded the 1997 César for Microcosmos: Le peuple de l’herbe and acclaimed for Le dernier trappeur, Loup [+see also:
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film profile] and Winged Migration) and who also directed the audiovisual documentary La nuit des éléphants (2014).

The cast is led by young Greenlandic actress Mila Heilmann Kreutzmann (who played the lead in the multi-award-winning short Ivalu, which was Oscar-nominated in 2023) and fellow Icelander Rasmus Lyberth (one of the most popular artists on the Greenlandic music scene and well-received on screen in the latest season of Borgen – Power & Glory, in Heart of Light in 1998 and in Tukuma, which was selected in competition in Venice in 1984, among other rare appearances).

Written by the director in league with Michel Fessler (March of the Penguins [+see also:
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film profile], The Sea Wall [+see also:
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film profile]), Maud Ameline (awarded 2013’s Best Original Screenplay César via Camille Rewinds [+see also:
film review
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film review
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interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile]), Greenlander Nukâka Coster-Waldau and her Danish peer Pipaluk Jørgensen, the screenplay centres on 13-year-old Pipaluk who dreams of taking part in a dog-sled race which has been considered dangerous ever since the sea ice became unstable. No one takes her seriously, except Tulok, an old, solitary fisherman. As Tulok initiates her into the ways of the Inuit spirit and the secrets of the sea ice, Pipaluk discovers the fisherman’s mysterious past and the reason he agreed to help her...

The film will be shot with the support of and in collaboration with the young people of the Uummannaq Polar Institute (UPI) Foundation, headed up by Ann Andreasen. Located in Uummannaq, on the north-west coast of Greenland, UPI serves as a coordinating framework for the cultural and outdoor activities run by the Uummannaq Children’s Home. While Greenlandic culture lies at the heart of all the activities undertaken, the main objective is to promote educational programmes for young Inuit children living in this isolated community. In this sense, UPI operates as a permanent workshop, offering inspiring projects such as dog-sled expeditions, study trips, scientific work, filmmaking, music, theatre and painting.

Pipaluk is being produced by Marc Bordure for Ex Nihilo, by Nicolas Elghozi and Morgane Olivier for Galatée Films, and by Europe-based American Mike Magidson, in co-production with Emile Hertling Péronard for Greenlandic outfit Anorâk, Katrin Pors and Mikkel Jersin for Snowglobe (Denmark) and Reinhard Bründig for Pandora (Germany). Pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+ OCS, the feature also enjoys support from the Danish Film Institute and Eurimages. The eight-week shoot will take place in Greenland in March and September, with the director himself serving as director of photography. International sales are handled by Lucky Number while distribution in French cinemas will be overseen by Haut et Court.

For the record, Agat Films & Ex Nihilo rolled out The Great Arch [+see also:
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interview: Stéphane Demoustier
film profile] by Stéphane Demoustier (which won the 2026 Lumières Award for Best Screenplay last Sunday) and Spices and Lies [+see also:
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film profile] by Amine Adjina in French cinemas at the end of last year, and is currently overseeing post-production on Une femme aujourd’hui by Robert Guédiguian (read our article), Du fioul dans les artères by Pierre Le Gall (article), Greenland by Emmanuel Courcol (article) and the documentary Je m’appelle Sophie Calle et je suis encore vivante by Sébastien Lifshitz.

(Translated from French)