Germany / May 10, 2025 / DOK.fest München
Overall average
5.0/10
Plot
On July 11, 1897, three men - the Swedish engineer Salomon August Andrée and his companions Nils Strindberg and Knut Fraenkel - set off from Spitsbergen for the North Pole in a hydrogen balloon, a daring attempt to conquer the Arctic from the air. Contact is lost after a few days. They are never seen again. Thirty-three years later, on August 6, 1930, a sealing ship makes a chilling discovery on the remote Island of Kvitøya, the northernmost part of Svalbard. The expedition’s remains, bodies frozen in time beneath the snow, alongside journals and undeveloped film material. Ninety-three of the 240 recovered photographs are salvaged. The documentary reconstructs this expedition between delusion and vision, between scientific ambition and human vulnerability as a compelling mosaic of past and present – an archaeological crime thriller about the price of discovery, the beauty of the unknown, and the melting of memory in the ice of time, with a touch of tragic, unrequited love.
Main cast
Full cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Sandrine Grange | Self - Additional French Voice (voice) |
| Jean-François Legonin | Self - Additional French Voice (voice) |
| Robin Brosch | Self - Additional German Voice (voice) |
| Dagmar Dreke | Self - Additional German Voice (voice) |
| Martin Lohmann | Self - Additional German Voice (voice) |
| Johannes Semm | Self - Additional German Voice (voice) |
| Verena Wolfien | Self - Additional German Voice (voice) |
Genres
Technical details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Original title | Tombeau de glace |
| Original language | Français (FR) |
| Spoken languages | Français, svenska |
| Production countries | France, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland |
| Status | Released |
| Production companies | Seppia, ARTE, Dixit International, Relation04 Media, SVT, Histoire TV, RTS, CNC, Eurométropole de Strasbourg, Région Grand Est, Procirep-Angoa, Arctic Film Norway Invest |
| Official site | lightdox.com |
| Release date | 10 maggio 2025 |
| Production | Cédric Bonin, Fabrice Puchault, Anne Grolleron, Saam Kapadia, Pascaline Geoffroy, Maxime Owyszer, Malcolm Dixelius, Viktor Nordenskiöld, Karl Emil Rikardsen, Christophe Sommet, Steven Artels, Bettina Hofmann, Frédéric Pfyffer |
| Writer | Robin Hunzinger |
| Editing | Robin Hunzinger, Benoît Quinon, Christophe Reynaud, Robin Gontier, Tom Da Fonseca |
| Cinematography | Eirik Nicolai Heim |
| Assistant directors | Inge Horter, Robin Hunzinger |
| Camera operators | Eirik Nicolai Heim |
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| Additional photography | Eirik Nicolai Heim |
| Music | Bendik Giske, Marc Namblard, Marcus Sjödin, Hassen Bahloul |
| Sound | Marc Namblard, Marcus Sjödin, Hassen Bahloul, Bendik Giske |
Release dates
Premiere
Hong Kong / Apr 02, 2026 / Hong Kong International Film Festival
Brazil / Apr 09, 2026 / 31o Festival Internacional de documentários É tudo verdade
Digital
France / Feb 24, 2026 / Arte.tv (edited version)
Germany / Feb 24, 2026 / Arte.tv (edited version)
TV
Sweden / Oct 19, 2025 / SVT
France / Mar 03, 2026 / Arte (edited version)
Germany / Mar 03, 2026 / Arte (edited version)
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