Our story
In 1841 Edgar Allan Poe wrote the short story ”Descent in the Maelstrom”. It tells the tale of two fishermen who are caught in raging torrents that course between the mountainous islands of Lofoten, inside the Arctic Circle of northern Norway. Their boat is dragged down and only one of them survives.
In 1985 Philip Glass composed a 66-minute choral work for the Australian Dance Theatre. The piece was performed once at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in 1886. The music was recorded but the tapes were found to be corrupt on their return to America. The Philip Glass Ensemble re-recorded the work and it was released in 2002.![]()
We wish to stage and film a performance of the Descent into the Maelstrom with The Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir (and a soon to be named soloist of international renown) in the surroundings of its birth: the spectacular landscape of Lofoten, Norway.
The underlying theme of the documentary is an examination of the social and political turmoil we are experiencing at the present time. We are staring into the abyss, and the abyss has started to stare back at us.
The entire film is without dialogue; the music of Philip Glass will play undisturbed. Read more about the project on our website, link at the bottom of the page.
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The Arctic Philharmonic
Well north of the Arctic Circle, you will discover the world’s youngest and northernmost professional orchestral institution – the Arctic Philharmonic. Since their founding in 2009, the Arctic Philharmonic has become one of Northern Norway’s largest and most active cultural
institutions. The orchestra presents 140-150 performances and concerts each year, with the orchestra’s musicians switching between different ensemble formats on a regular basis. The orchestra holds regular concerts in our two cities, Bodø and Tromsø, but our home base comprises the entire Northern Norway and the High North.
Seen below is a picture from when they earlie in 2018 they went to Svalbard to perform during Arctic Chamber Festival.
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Producers
On the documenting and producing side we have by Beacon Isle Films, and producer/director Jan Vardøen. This is a young and eager company that since its start in 2012 already have produced 3 full lengt features and a short. These productions have been featured on several festivals world wide, and has been well received. We are also founding partners in Oslos' new filmcentre Oslo16 where we are trying to gather everyone who is passionate about creating and producing films. See our website for further information.
Coproducing with us is Wegge Films, a dedicated and hardworking filmprofessional based in the north of Norway. His dedication to the environment and ability to produce spectacular documentaries is well known internationally. See his webpage for some of his spectacular productions.
What We Need & What You Get
We need funds to organise and pay for a professional crew and equipment to make this production happen. There is also much logistics to acomodate and handle such a large production,.
If you choose to buy one or more of our perks we will simply fall in love with you for your engagement! We hope you will enjoy seeing the finished documentary and glad that you have been part of creating it.
In case we don't reach our goals we will still see the production trough, but need to reduce hours shooting and find easier ways than the most spectacular scenic shots. Your investment in this production goes straight into production value!
If you should think of anything other you would like than what we are offering in the list, please let us know! We can offer special perks upon your request.
Prospective release of the documentary will be late 2018, witch also will be our distribution time of bought perks.
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Spread the word!
If you should not be able to help us right now, or want to help us even more, what about spreading the word? Do a post on your social media accounts for us! We are eager about this project and want more people to get involved and know what we are about and what we are creating!
We have a webpage with more information: