ROVANIEMI. Interested in the North and the Arctic? In Rovaniemi there is a goldmine waiting for you – 35 000 documentary films from the archives of television companies in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Northern Finland are indexed in a database. Around 1000 of them are digitalized and can be seen on DVD at the Arctic Centre library in Rovaniemi. The collection stems from the project AFBARE – “Arctic Documentary Films at Risk in Barents Region: Surveying, Protecting and Screening 2002-2006“.

Icebreakers. Photo Afbare

– Anyone who is interested can come here and look at the DVD:s. If someone want their own copy they must get in contact with the television company that has the copyright, Arto Vitikka at the Arctic Centre says to BarentsCulture.

But you don’t have to go to Rovaniemi to get documentary glimpses. On the homepage:
http://arcticcentre.ulapland.fi/afbare/index.asp
you can find 20seconds long samples of many films. Fill in a search word, and enjoy.

Dramatic footage from northern Russia. Photo Afbare