On May 17, see director Ainara Vera’s new documentary Polaris (France/Greenland, 2022) in the series Spotlight Greenland, held this April and May in coordination with our ongoing exhibition Arctic Highways!

Hayat is a skilled seawoman who sails across the Arctic, navigating far away from people and her troubled youth in France. But when her little sister Leila gives birth to a baby girl Inaya, the promise of new beginnings is on the horizon. As the sisters each go on a deeply personal journey, their worlds are turned upside down, guided by the Northern Star to overturn their family’s fate. With a keen feeling for atmosphere and metaphor, Polaris sketches the lives of these two sisters, who see this birth as an opportunity to break the cycle of their history.

“Very touching…for lack of a better expression, Polaris is a love story” (Cineuropa).

Ainara Vera was born in Spain in 1985. After studying cinema, her first short documentary Sertres premiered at Locarno in 2014. She then directed a medium-length film See you tomorrow, God Willing! which premiered at IDFA and was selected in a many festivals including Doc NYC, DocsBarcelona.

She worked for as First Assistant Director and editor on Victor Kossakovsky’s films Varicella, Aquarela and Gunda. Polaris is her first feature doc.