Did you know that Antarctica has its own film festival?

The festival was held for the first time in 2008. Eight stations participated, and for every year since then, both interest in the festival and the number of participants has grown.

The festival has two categories:

• Open competition – all topics are allowed, but the film must not exceed five minutes in length.
• 48-hour filming – takes place in the first week of August. The competitors compile a list of elements that must be included, and then the film must be ready to screen within 48 hours.

In 2009, the Norwegian research station Troll in Dronning Maud Land competed with the film “Hunger at Troll”. The obligatory elements that year were: an angry cook, a funny hat, the line “Do you want to buy a dog?”, a roll of toilet paper, and the sound of a can being opened (a soft drink, for example). After much diligent effort, the Norwegian overwintering team managed to produce a black-and-white film in the spirit of Roald Amundsen. The film came third in its class, in competition with 21 others. Quite a respectable ranking, to be sure!

In 2010, Troll Station participated with the film “Recapture of the South Pole”. That year the contributions were required to contain a grumpy mechanic, a mop, a bottle of mouthwash, the sound of a siren, and the line “Has anybody seen my chicken?” The film describes how the Norwegians prepare to reclaim the South Pole from the Americans (who have a station at the pole).

Watch «Hunger at Troll»:

Watch «Recapture of the South Pole»: