Frost without Snow and Ice

Frost Without Snow and Ice follows the extraordinary ten-year encounter between polar bear Frost and filmmaker Asgeir Helgestad on Svalbard, the fastest warming place on earth. In this magnificent and seemingly untouched wilderness, Asgeir has seen seven of her cubs come into the world. Getting to know her and experiencing how she cared for her cubs has captivated his heart and mind. Frost is a native of this harsh environment and the first bear to establish her territory near humant settlements in recent times. Asgeir has never stopped thinking of Frost. She has been the main reason for him to return to Svalbard year after year. Over time, his perspective shifts – from photographer enchanted by this otherworldly environment to storyteller determined to reveal how human activity threatens to alter it irreversibly. The story unfolds through a series of flashbacks extending back to the very first day that Asgeir sees Frost coming out on the ice with her two cubs, Snow and Ice. After centuries of hunting and trapping that almost drove the region’s wildlife to extinction, now climate change forces her and other bears to approach inhabited areas in search of food, and conflicts become inevitable. Over the years Asgeir experiences five of Frost's cubs dying in their encounters with humans without being able to prevent these losses. Frost becomes a mother again even as she is getting older and meets harsh competition from younger bears. When Asgeir meets her skinny and aged, he feels that all is lost. But he is soon surprised by her resilience and will to adapt her behavior seeking food in new territories. This is what is to become their last encounter. As he packs for what he believes to be his next trip to Svalbard, he learns that Frost and her final cub were brutally chased away by locals when they approached a cabin area. Frost died as she set out to swim in the fjord, while her cub was shot down by the authorities as she refused to leave her dead mother. The exact conditions around their deaths remain unknown, but the involvement of humans is undeniable. This is the final act of a death foretold, a loss that Asgeir has feared but was not able to prevent, and an end that Frost fought against with all her power. Frost Without Snow and Ice explores the relationship between humans and other animals in an extreme ecosystem dramatically affected by climate change. Told as a first-person story, it invites us to experience and reflect on being deeply connected with someone so different from your own person. The meeting between Frost and Asgeir can reveal much to all of us about motherhood, aging, connection, loss and resilience. Combining stunning cinematography with a true local story, this film delivers a global environmental message of empathy and coexistence in an overheated world.