“Tales of Jan Mayen”, Hugo Pettit, UK, 31’, 2022
A team sails to the remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen to recreate the 1921 British expedition to summit the world’s northernmost volcano, Mount Beerenberg. They conduct marine science, alongside discovering how climate change is affecting the volcano’s glaciers today.
Director Statement
When Hugh reached out to ask if I wanted to be part of the Jan Mayen expedition, I knew immediately that this was a project and story I wanted to help tell. Hugh and Andreas have worked together for a number of years documenting marine conservation onboard Andreas’ expedition yacht Barba. I saw the work the two had produced for National Geographic UK, Oceanographic and Sidetracked magazines, and knew their partnership was one that I could help tell through a documentary.
Hugh discovered the original 1921 expedition report in the archives of the Royal Geographical Society and set about working with Andreas on an expedition to recreate the journey on its centenary. But this time, they wanted to approach it in a modern way, by working with marine scientific partner Whale Wise and glaciology scientific partner Deep Purple. In doing so, they wanted to tell the unknown story of the original expedition through the modern lens.
Adventure for the sake of adventure still has a place, but what really drew me in was the way Hugh and Andreas wanted to add a greater purpose. Whilst the entire team was drawn to the sheer adventure of embarking on such a voyage, to know we’d be conducting world-first research added another layer to an already remarkable story.
Thus far, the team has produced stories for a host of publications, including National Geographic UK, alongside several talks to both the exploration community and school children. With Tales of Jan Mayen, I wanted to help further the storytelling through a compelling, organic narrative that sheds light on an unknown historic expedition, conducts contemporary scientific research, yet still speaks to our innate curiosity to head into unknown territories and live the adventure. I hope this documentary does just that.
