Producer Martin Dignard was first inspired by the North during a two-week school exchange program in 1979. Without that trip, Great North would never have happened. It was during those two weeks in Ivujivik, northern Quebec, that Martin first encountered the rich blue Arctic sky, the beauty of Arctic char (a northern fish) and the sensation of sleeping in an igloo surrounded by the dancing northern lights as temperatures dipped to -50 Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit).

The dream of making a film about the North was born.

In 1993, Martin saw Le Cowboy du Nord (The Northern Cowboy) a documentary film about biologist Serge Couturier, who became a key member of the Great North team. Filled with beautiful wildlife footage, the film set Martin to thinking about bringing the splendours of the North to the giant screen.

Shortly afterwards, Martin joined TVA International-Large Format Films. That's when the Great North adventure began in earnest. Charged with developing ideas for new giant-screen films, in 1997 Martin laid the groundwork for the production of Great North: his, and the company's, first IMAX® film.

The original concept was for a film about the dramatic landscape of the North, that we would get to know by following the migration of one of the world’s largest animal herds — the George River caribou herd of northern Quebec and Labrador.

As research progressed, it became clear the caribou had always played an important role in the way people have adapted to life in the Arctic.

Martin and his team saw all kinds of parallels between the lives of the Inuit living on the Canadian tundra and those of the Saami in Scandinavia — who have herded semi-domestic reindeer for centuries. Adding the human dimension to the film frames our understanding of northern society in relation to the ever-present caribou and the tundra.

Making Great North has been a great adventure for the whole production team: not only up North, but also back at TVA International's Montreal offices.

Since Day One, the script has been like a living entity — constantly evolving as we discovered more during our research and film shoots. You can follow that evolution by clicking on the Original Storyline and Script and Storyboard sections of the Web site. Go to Film Facts for a look at the people who made up our team, and some neat facts about the filming of Great North.

How will it all turn out? You’ll find out in June 2000 with the release of Great North, an ode to the Arctic and the people who live there.