Trailer for Northern Light.
From the opening shot, driving into a thick blizzard, we’re reminded of winter’s duality: the beauty and the brutality. In the crisp white winter, families in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., prepare for the annual 500-mile snowmobile race. Everyone pitches in, tinkering with the machinery and waking up before dawn to train—not to mention long hours working for low wages. Racing is a financial risk, but a big win could make all the difference to a struggling family. Nick Bentgen’s film showcases the impressiveness, speed and endurance of the snowmobiling sport. Breathtaking cinematography captures the neon sleds whipping across the stark white ice under a blanket of stars in the night sky. In sharp contrast to the racing is an intimate observational portrait of the families in this northern town. A snowmobile race may be the centrepiece of Northern Light, but loving, hardworking families are at its heart.