THE BLINDING SEA

This October, Scandinavia House is excited to present virtual screenings of The Blinding Sea, a new film by George Tombs that explores the life and loves of Roald Amundsen (1872-1928). The Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen hungered for ice-choked seas and desert places — but more than that, he had a passionate interest in acquiring new knowledge. In leading the first expedition through the Northwest Passage, the first to the South Pole, the second through the Northeast Passage and the first confirmed to have reached the North Pole, Amundsen transformed science into a great adventure. And he left nobody indifferent: The Blinding Sea explores his close relationships with aboriginal people, as a person who shared with the Inuit and Inupiat of Arctic Canada and Alaska as well as the Chukchi of Siberi, while looking at his research agenda and his leadership style.

Shot on locations including an icebreaker wintering in the Beaufort Sea, a tall ship on the Southern Ocean, on dog-team in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic, as well as the glaciers of Antarctica and Norway, the film combines factual accuracy with bold story-telling, a cross-cultural approach, oral histories, a focus on physical and psychological health, and the refreshing eye-witness perspective of an acclaimed biographer. (108 min. In English and Norwegian with English subtitles.)

Director George Tombs will join us for a virtual film talk to accompany the release on October 13; click here to learn more and see how to register.

George Tombs is an award-winning author and filmmaker. As a journalist he reported from six continents, before serving as executive director of a medical association and then as university professor. He has a Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Science from McGill University.

The Blinding Sea is his first film.