The North Drift

Director: Steffen Krones

          Germany, 2022

94′

Synopsis

A German beer bottle, washed ashore on one of Norway’s remotest islands on the Lofoten archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. How did it get here? Did it really come from Germany? Or did a thirsty tourist down the beer and dispose of the bottle in the sea? Passionate about Norway’s unique scenery, film-maker Steffen Krones is keen to get to the bottom of the matter. Are rivers in Central Europe connected to the Arctic Sea? Can waste really travel so far? His personal curiosity turns into a scientific research project. Together with engineers and well-known scientists, Steffen wants to trace the journey of plastic waste from his home city of Dresden. They build GPS buoys which they launch on the river Elbe. Steffen’s friend Kris follows the experiment from Norway. Will the buoys really wash ashore somewhere in the Arctic? Will GPS data confirm suspicions that there are links between German rivers and the Arctic Circle? The film takes us on a scientific adventure down the river Elbe across the North Sea to Norway and shows us that we are part of a cycle in which every one of us has the power to make changes.

Director's bio

Steffen Krones, German director and filmmaker from Dresden. Skateboarding first led him into the wide world and later into the film. After finishing his training as a digital media designer and graduating with a diploma in art and design, he moved to Canada. In collaboration with other filmmakers like Sebastian Linda, Torsten Frank, and Sven Sauer, he travelled the world after his return and directed several award-winning videos, short films, and documentaries. As a freelance filmmaker, he works on TV, film, and internet productions. Besides commercial and image films, he produces and directs music videos and state-of-the-art hybrid formats. A pet project of his is the realization of a scientific documentary about the current problem of man-made plastic pollution in our german rivers well up into the North Polar Sea.

Credits

Camera: Axel Rothe

Editing: Steffen Krones

Sound: Hans Bauer, Axel Rothe

Producer: Uwe Nadler & Dorit Jessner

Preproduction Manager: Mathias Schulte Ontrop