In making New Land I was faced with many challenges which I was not sure I would be able to overcome. The extreme cold was an obvious one, less obvious but no less challenging was the fact that I had never skied before or worked with dogs.
I’ve seen very few adventure films where the action unfolds as it is happening and is not unpacked through retrospective interviews. My primary motivation in documenting New Land was to take the viewer into the heart of a polar expedition. For them to feel the cold not because people were telling them it was cold but rather because the action showed it. To make them feel anxiety of a close animal encounter through their reactions to the encounter as it unfolded.
New Land is in many ways the culmination of a childhood of day dreaming. It is the ultimate treasure hunt with 100 year old maps and a breadcrumb trail through one of the most spectacular places on the planet.
If this expedition cemented anything in my mind about adventure film-making it was this: have your camera on you at all times around your neck - there is no substitute for filming capturing things as they happen.
Kyle O’ Donoghue
New Land Recently had its debut on Norwegian television -Broadcast in two parts, of an hour each. The film has had an overwhelming response.
New Land 2013 Interview, Norwegian
