Expedition Greenland - Solveig’s Strength and Auðr’s Prosperity

Expedition Greenland - Solveig’s Strength and Auðr’s Prosperity is inspired by Erik the Red’s and the Greenlanders Sagas, the Norse expansion west across the north Atlantic and the retelling of key events in these sagas. The film tells the fictional story of two women who participated in the discovery of these new lands while emigrating to Greenland and establishing the first settlements there.

  • George Scott MacLeod
    Director
    After the war with Hannelore, The Water of Life series, First Contact
  • George Scott MacLeod
    Writer
    After the war with Hannelore, The Water of Life series, First Contact
  • MacLeod 9 Productions
    Producer
    After the war with Hannelore, The Water of Life series, First Contact
  • Knut & Tone Magne Skaar
    Producer
    Griffintown: A People's History Episode 1.
  • Michèle Hayeur Smith
    Key Cast
    "Jórunn Skáldmær "
  • Jeremiah Hayes
    Editor
    Dear Audry 2021 & Reel Injun 2009
  • Stína Ágústsdóttir
    Music & Score
    First Contact 2016
  • Darren Borrowman
    Director of photography
    Telegraph Cove 2016
  • Lasse Lecklin
    Director of photography
  • Daniel Paterson
    Director of photography
  • Paul Scriver
    Sound design
    The Death & Life of Griffintwon 21 short films 2017
  • Jo Meuris
    VFX
    Griffintown: A People's History 2022, Aurora 2020, First Contact 2016, The Water of Life 2015
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Expédition Groenland - La force de Solveig et la prospérité d’Auðr
  • Project Type:
    Animation
  • Runtime:
    33 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 4, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    60,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Iceland
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - George Scott MacLeod

G. Scott MacLeod BFA MA
Filmmaker / Artist / Musician
G Scott MacLeod is a multimedia artist in the truest sense of the term. A critically acclaimed painter and photographer whose work is in many permanent collections, including that of the National Gallery of Canada, he is also a performing songwriter and recording artist. Based in Montreal, MacLeod received his diploma of collegial studies in Fine Arts at John Abbott in 1984, a BFA with a specialization in printmaking in 2003 and MA in Art Education in 2013 from Concordia University. He attended the Banff Centre for the Arts in 1987 and 1992. His thesis project was the documentary film Dans l’Griff-In Griffintown (2013), on the French community in Montreal’s Griffintown neighborhood, which won the 2014 Award of Excellence in Oral History from Concordia University’s Centre for Oral History. He is a member of RAAV, Main Film, a fellow at The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico and an affiliate at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling at Concordia University. He currently produces educational animations, films and web platforms with MacLeod 9 Productions as teaching tools for schools, libraries and the public (promo reel https://vimeo.com/447551079). Engaging his lifelong interest in history, with support from the National Film Board of Canada’s Filmmaker Assistance Program and a Main Film Grant, in 2009 MacLeod added filmmaker to his list of endeavors with the release of After the war with Hannelore- A Berliner War Child’s Testimony from 1945 to 1989. The 22-minute documentary had several high-profile screenings, including at Les rendez-vous du cinéma québécois and Berlin’s Arnsenal 2 Institut für Film und Videokunst and One World Berlin Film Festival. With funding from Conseil des arts et des lettres Québec, Canada Council for the Arts, and Aide au cinéma indépendant (ACIC) at the National Film Board of Canada, MacLeod produced four short animated films—The Abenaki- People of the Dawn (2013), The Saga of Murdo MacLeod and his first contact with the Abenaki (2012), The Irishman – Child of the Gael (2014), and The French Canadian (2015)—that make up The Water of Life series. These four films have since been edited together as a feature animated film The Water of Life (2015), which was considered for Cannes 2016 and presented at the Holland Animation Film Festival Features Extra in Utrecht, The Netherlands, Les rendez-vous du cinéma québécois, Montreal, Quebec, Canada and featured on Amazon Prime in 2017. From his Master’s thesis work he created the online walking tour and guide, The Death and Life of Griffintown: 21 Stories (2017) www.griffintowntour.com in collaboration with the NFB – ONF. In these 21 short films, Historian Dr. Matthew Barlow recounts the fascinating social history of Griffintown, a former industrial neighbourhood just south of downtown Montreal. From his 2017, 2018, 2022 & 2023 SIM artist residencies in Reykjavik Iceland, MacLeod has produced a short animated film and graphic novel series titled, The Norse Woman’s Sagas, Episode 1. The Indigo Iona Saga and the Settlement of Iceland (in production) Episode 2. https://macleod9.com/expeditiongreenland/public/ (2023) and Episode 3. http://www.firstcontactthefilm.com (2016). This three-act historic-fiction is rooted in his Hiberno-Norse ancestry from the Norse sagas. The story is told from a woman's perspective with fictionalized characters grounded in key events set in the Viking era. MacLeod launched the 23-minute pilot, Episode 1. Indigenous Lands, First Settlers and Irish Immigration (2022) from his four part series, Griffintown – A People’s History from Settlement to industrialization and gentrification.

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Director Statement

“I have tried to define myself in my work through my personal “myth” or what Joseph Campbell refers to as “following one’s bliss” (Campbell, 1990 p. 211). This is a metaphor for pursuing one’s life path through the labyrinth, which for me has been a journey via my learning, art and teaching practices. This journey has given me courage to live, it has made me humble, it has fed and sheltered me, given me a voice and enabled me to do the same for other, through teaching, outreach and fund-raisers. As a result of this work, I have better understood humanity’s place on this planet and have tried to be a positive influence for political and social change.”