Source: http://planetinfocus.org/festival/prize-pole
When explorer Robert Peary sojourned to the Pole he not only left a historic legacy but a personal one with tragic implications for the people whose lives he had altered forever. Prize of the Pole follows the sombre contemporary journey of one of Peary’s Inuit descendants who attempts to reconcile the motives and actions of his white ancestor’s quest for glory in an imperial age. This unique film intersects the lives of three men over time and space revealing their own attempts to come to terms with the opposing cultural ties within them. A profoundly moving multi-textured and layered story leaves one confounded by the racist attitudes displayed and the lives destroyed in the wake of the Prize of the Pole.
Staffan Julén was born in 1957 in Stockholm. He currently works as a film photographer and director.
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Far more than simply tackling modern society’s infringement on the Inuit way of life, this is a deeply personal documentary that explores real people who have been touched by such tragic events.
It is certainly one of the most eerie and surreal films of the festival. Along with its historical analysis of events surrounding Robert Peary’s expeditions to the North, the film tracks one of Peary’s present-day descendants (very awkwardly) through the streets of New York City.
The crew follows as they look for preserved
‘Eskimo’ brains and bones and search the Bronx for clues about the life of another Inuit boy brought here by Peary. In these moments, the film is positively spooky, while at others it is an endearing portrait of the entire extended family.
This will definitely stick with you long after viewing.