Karen Mackenzie
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 10, 2007

NUNAVUT - Nunavut Tourism has made an unlikely connection with billionaire Sir Richard Branson, by sponsoring a documentary he spearheaded on climate change.

The tourism association announced last week it had signed a deal with Arctica Films, the film company producing the piece.

Members of the Will Steger Foundation's Global Warming 101 expedition celebrate their dog team journey with residents of Qikitarjuaq last spring. Footage shot during the expedition will be featured in an upcoming film on climate change, sponsored in part by Nunavut Tourism. - photo courtesy of the Will Steger Foundation

The documentary includes footage shot during Global Warming 101, a 1,900-kilometre dog team expedition across Baffin Island last spring led by American adventurer and philanthropist Will Steger.

Branson and his son took part in one leg of the journey.

This new business deal will net Nunavut Tourism some space in the film's promotional material and credits, and grant it first-right-of-refusal on any Nunavut products sold in conjunction with the film.

The film is due to be released sometime in 2008.

"There are many films about climate change and we had to ask ourselves the question which we would become involved in," said Paul Lewis, CEO of Nunavut Tourism. "From a philosophical standpoint, it's a question of how do you resolve global issues? And the answer is collaboration with other people."

It was simple human interaction that sparked the serendipitous collaboration between a small tourism centre and the billionaire Branson, according to Lewis.

Last spring, Lewis was asked to entertain the film's South African film director, who was stuck waiting for a flight at the airport.

"We had them over for tea, then had them for an afternoon lunch, then it went from there," Lewis said.

The sponsorship itself is of a "nominal amount," said Lewis, who declined to release the exact figure.

"It's quite amazing to have this calibre of thing happen to us. We're a small tourism operation, and this is a gigantic market," he said. "We could not have extended our market reach so far with so little investment otherwise."

Having Nunavut itself appear on the big screen is in general a positive thing, according to Charlotte DeWolff, executive director of Ajjiit Media, an organization which regularly consults with both the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Film on issues connected with the territory's film industry.

"If it promotes Nunavut, that's excellent," DeWolff said. "Through the promotion of Nunavut perhaps other productions could be attracted to film here, and in the end it could mean more production dollars going to local people."