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Tales of Jan Mayen

Tales of Jan Mayen chronicles a sailing voyage to the remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen to recreate the 1921 British expedition to summit Mount Beerenberg, the world’s northernmost active volcano. Co-lead by writer Hugh Francis Anderson and expedition sailor Andreas B. Heide, they use history as their guide to learn more about the island as they embark on their own summit attempt on the centenary of the first ascent. Along the way, they unearth the island’s dark past, utilise citizen science to document marine life, and discover how climate change is affecting the volcano’s glaciers today.

  • Hugo Pettit
    Director
  • Hugh Francis Anderson
    Writer
  • Andreas Backer Heide
    Producer
  • Hugh Francis Anderson
    Producer
  • Andreas Backer Heide
    Key Cast
  • Hugh Francis Anderson
    Key Cast
  • Hugo Pettit
    Key Cast
  • Annik Falch
    Key Cast
  • Jaap van Rijckevorsel
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 14, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Svalbard and Jan Mayen
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Hugo Pettit

Hugo is a director, filmmaker and founder of 8 seconds Ltd. He is a former professional skier who specialises in fashion and adventure sports. Tales of Jan Mayen is his first documentary.

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Director Statement

When Hugh reached out to ask if I wanted to be part of the Jan Mayen expedition, I knew immediately that this was a project and story I wanted to help tell. Hugh and Andreas have worked together for a number of years documenting marine conservation onboard Andreas’ expedition yacht Barba. I saw the work the two had produced for National Geographic UK, Oceanographic and Sidetracked magazines, and knew their partnership was one that I could help tell through a documentary.

Hugh discovered the original 1921 expedition report in the archives of the Royal Geographical Society and set about working with Andreas on an expedition to recreate the journey on its centenary. But this time, they wanted to approach it in a modern way, by working with marine scientific partner Whale Wise and glaciology scientific partner Deep Purple. In doing so, they wanted to tell the unknown story of the original expedition through the modern lens.

Adventure for the sake of adventure still has a place, but what really drew me in was the way Hugh and Andreas wanted to add a greater purpose. Whilst the entire team was drawn to the sheer adventure of embarking on such a voyage, to know we’d be conducting world-first research added another layer to an already remarkable story.

Thus far, the team has produced stories for a host of publications, including National Geographic UK, alongside several talks to both the exploration community and school children. With Tales of Jan Mayen, I wanted to help further the storytelling through a compelling, organic narrative that sheds light on an unknown historic expedition, conducts contemporary scientific research, yet still speaks to our innate curiosity to head into unknown territories and live the adventure. I hope this documentary does just that.

Hugo Pettit.