Whispers of the North | A trek in the Norwegian Tundra | Documentary

In those moments, I get shivers all over. A little lead, I look at it like that. It's a bit like a temple of nature to me. When I go there, the idea is to meditate and escape from my daily routine. It's a place where I can go to reflect. When I first came to Scandinavia, I had the feeling of falling deeply in love with a person, as if struck by lightning. I truly felt at ease. I had the impression that everything aligned within me, that everything calmed down, that everything made sense inside me. This is where I feel at home, and I feel so much love for the tundra. I want to be as close to her as possible. The tundra is such an incredibly vast place that one must be humble. because sometimes not much happens there. It's a place you go to without expectation. You have to want to go there in order to be there, not to wait for things. At first, I'm not at all into performance. or in the fact of surpassing me physically, Even though it's often animals that lead me there. I also realized that walking was something very therapeutic. I find that it aligns many things within us. The effort, the act of walking, calms me down and allows me to handle so many things. It helps one see more clearly and sort things out in life. to confront the unexpected, discomfort, and lack of control. The moment we met, we immediately felt a resonance regarding the North. I didn't let go of anything; I stayed out there for an extremely long time. because at first, I couldn't see anything. They are always in flight; they are insectivores. They are always in motion. She is fascinated by animal behavior. She is always telling me about his behaviors. That's way cool. I love the traquémoteux so much because it's a little bird. which performs one of the longest migrations. She is passionate about both small birds and musk oxen. She marvels at everything. She is always eager, always motivated to discover new things. I'm so happy, I did it like this in the mist. And then, I did it too. It landed on a birch tree. It was too, too beautiful. In fact, I would say what drives me is It's not really about coming back with photos. It's no longer a need for me to connect with the living, the animals, but also the flora, everything around me. Already, fundamentally, it's really a need to be there, in this place. It's so cute, it's so beautiful. When you go into nature, when you spend time there, when you listen to it, Eventually, you will develop intuitions and insights. how animals react, how they position themselves, how they move. And then, generally, things go as they should. There is no coincidence in nature. This is musk ox wool. It's winter's molt. They lose it either by dropping it, by tripping over a bush Sometimes, they also scratch themselves to shed their skin. So, there's just a tiny bit of wool, but sometimes, in summer, You can really find a lot of them. I think it's a young male, yes. I can't see very well. Or a little smoke, but that would be surprising on its own. No, it's a young male, I think. When I approach an animal, generally, I try to really take the time, Be sure to carefully observe his behavior, his reactions. I am truly passionate about ethology. So I'm learning a lot about animal communication signals. We can try moving a bit further to the right, like this. See if it's coming a bit in our direction. And in fact, I'm really trying to maintain this relationship of trust and respect. between him and me. When I have the chance to approach an animal and it accepts me, I feel an immense emotion within me at first. Especially when I approach, I'm always a little afraid of disturbing him, of making him run away. She is really very ugly. We're not going out much. I'm really trying to send peaceful energies. The muskoxen, the first time I observed them, I was truly propelled into another world. A prehistoric world shaped by wind and cold. They are animals that are truly dependent on cold temperatures. and which are part of this Arctic environment. And to see them so resilient in this troubled environment, It's something that fascinates me a great deal. She continues with her little life. And in those moments, I feel like crying. Because I know we don't disturb her too much, really. She continues to graze. Too cute, what can I say. When staying several days on site, among the animals, They accept us; they no longer care whether we're here or not. And one can only experience it by spending a moment on the ground. Bivouacking really gives us that sense of freedom. to gradually become a part of this environment. You shelter yourself, you generate warmth, you eat warm food. You are responsible for your life, in fact. And that, that provides an incredible sense of well-being. Already, you're interested in what's edible in nature, It will inevitably make you become even more interested in what surrounds you. And in fact, realizing that there are an enormous number of plants, from berries, from flowers that are medicinal, for example, Mine is something that fascinates me enormously. Medicines, in fact, small medicines from the tundra. It's so beautiful. It's really as if you're tasting the earth. You see it, you touch it, you feel it, you hear it, and you taste it too, in fact. All your senses are connected to the earth. That puts us a bit on the same level as animals. who are always there and who constantly endure the elements and who are forced to be highly resilient and to actually accept it. And I find that this is an extremely important experience to live through. And this makes us stronger, it makes us greater, That also makes us wiser, I think. Lionel, I think he is one of the most sensitive people I know. When we met, I was really focused on wildlife photography. And spending time with him also opened me up a lot to another relationship with life, a more raw one, a bit more wild because he is very radical in his approach. I define myself as a filmmaker photographer, but I don't really like putting labels on myself, such as photography, It's one of my tools, you could say. I am a contemplator of life, and then I use photography and film. to capture moments. I create testimonials of wild moments. As far back as I can remember, a photo comes to mind. where I am crouched beside a river, a stick in my hand I'm 8 years old and I'm looking at the river, dreaming of fruits beneath it. And I think I had no idea at all that I would have carried my pursuit so far. because it's still hard to free oneself from society's expectations, expectations from the family, expectations from all of this. As for me, it was solitude, the fact of setting off alone into the mountains, to develop autonomous knowledge so I can manage on my own, in fact. I lack confidence in modern life, you could say—I call it that. And when I'm in nature, I feel free, I feel fully confident, I trust everything; I trust life, the elements, and the animals. Even if you're a great athlete, incredibly strong, If you don't have the mindset, you won't make it. I am absolutely not the example of a strong and adventurous person. I get cold easily, I get tired easily And I think that's what we need to work on within ourselves. The barriers are really in the mind. It's in your head that you become anxious, that you tell yourself you're not going to make it. And in fact, once you remove all that from yourself, That's where you rush toward and live your dreams. If they're not in this direction... I think one must already want to learn, a desire to confront oneself. The most important thing is to have shoes and a backpack, A floor mat, a duvet, and off you go. Those who are behind there, I think it might be a female with her young. But it seems there are others underneath. I think it might be a male, but there is definitely a small one. Can't see clearly from here, but there are at least two, maybe three people. Then there's a male who couldn't care less about my presence, One male and two females. One is grazing, the other one looked at me, She's still rerouting now. So that's cool. Everything is fine. We'll try approaching calmly and take a photo of the 56 meters. The photo of my dreams, that's what. What a male, he's looking at me. It always makes me a little afraid, But it's good. It's truly magnificent. Ruth's behavior toward the glacier fund. This had never happened to me before. And then, sir, he's trying to do his things in front of the little one. We're really in the wild here. In those moments, I get shivers all over. When they gaze like that. Do you think so yourself? There are the naturalists in me, when they stayed until nightfall, They were watching all their behaviors. Then, at the same time, I really like the idea of just being a passing visitor, in a way. with them for a while. And after distancing myself and leaving them in peace in their wild world. He is always connected to nature. It is innate in us; we cannot remove it. But we can no longer see it. When it's hidden, you put blinders on. And for me, we must remove these blinkers and go outside. because true culture, true knowledge, wealth, She is here, all around us. If you give yourself the means to live something, that you go without expectation and without wanting to consume nature, you will find extraordinary things there, which are intended for you. You will be favored.