Director
Samuel Collardey
Screenwriter
Samuel Collardey

Catherine Paillé
Producer
Grégoire Debailly
Principal Cast
Anders Hvidegaard

Asser Boassen

Julius B. Nielsen

Tobias Ignatiussen

Thomasine Jonathansen

Gert Jonathansen
SECTION World Doc
COUNTRY France
RUN TIME 95 min
LANGUAGE Danish/Inuit
SUBTITLES Yes with English subtitles
COMPANY KINOLOGY
EMAIL [email protected]
PHONE +33 687510396
Although he’s warned to expect boredom and bitter cold, Anders, a young Danish primary school teacher, accepts a post in Tiniteqiilaq, a remote village of 80 inhabitants in Greenland. Arriving with certain preconceptions—the “Danish look” as one villager calls it—Anders contends with cultural differences and an unruly classroom, to say nothing of the snow. Wondering what it takes to be accepted in this “hellhole,” he’s advised to try learning the language and local ways—hunting, sledding, fishing. How hard can it be, he figures, to ride a sled?
French filmmaker Samuel Collardey often explores the blurry terrain between fiction and documentary. Meticulously constructed, A Polar Year blends purely documentary sequences with scripted moments involving the villagers. But these distinctions become academic as you give yourself over to cinema that’s thoroughly absorbing and visually breathtaking. Collardey spent months in the village before learning of Anders’s assignment and starting to film. His “reverse assimilation” story reflects delightfully on Eurocentrism as well as on Tiniteqiilaq’s indigenous people, changing seasons, and rhythms of life and death.

Eccentric yet lovable Robertina is a celebrated theatre actress whose one-woman show is set to open in a week. Occupied with half-hearted rehearsals, she tries to distract herself from her husband’s unexplained absence, even as her underlying anxieties threaten to overwhelm her. When she discovers a close friend from her past is dying, she doesn’t hesitate to drop everything and fly across the world to visit him one last time. Their bittersweet reunion forces Robertina to re-examine her priorities and the opulent lifestyle she has fashioned for herself.
Seeped in subtle absurdist comedy and featuring a remarkable lead performance at its core, The Queen of Fear is unafraid to explore apprehension and theatricality, questioning what it means to unravel in a world that is so tightly wound. Veteran actress Valeria Bertuccelli stars, directs (alongside co-director Fabiana Tiscornia), and co-writes here, revealing herself to be a virtuoso storyteller capable of perfectly balancing the pathos and humor of this elegant and meditative story, which promises to charm and disconcert in equal measure.