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 [+lee también:
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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 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Pietro Marcello
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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 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Stéphane Demoustier
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