Before a nature film can show a penguin's life, somebody has to stand on the Antarctic ice and record it. Penguins: Life on the Edge, a 78-minute documentary from 2020, is about the crew who did exactly that for Disneynature's Penguins.
What is Penguins: Life on the Edge about?
Penguins, the 2019 feature, told the story of an Adélie penguin named Steve. This companion piece turns the cameras around and watches the people who were holding them: a witty, tenacious team of filmmakers who travelled to Antarctica to bring that footage home. Steve's story stays in the background here. The subject is the work itself, meaning the cold the crew had to put up with, the patience wildlife filming demands, and the good humour that carried them through it. What results is a making-of in the fullest sense, a look at how a polar nature film actually reaches the screen.
About the cast
Blair Underwood is the first name in the credits. He is listed alongside Matthew Aeberhard, John Aitchison, Doug Anderson, Tom Beldam, Sophie Darlington and Jamie McPherson. Alastair Fothergill appears in that same list and is also credited as director together with Jeff Wilson, so one name sits on both sides of the camera.
Context & significance
Behind-the-scenes documentaries occupy a corner of their own within nature filmmaking. A wildlife feature hides its makers on purpose so that the animals can hold the frame, and a film like this one exists to put those makers back in the picture. Penguins: Life on the Edge is a United States production filed under documentary and family, and at 78 minutes it is short enough for younger viewers to sit through in one go. It works well as a second half to Penguins, since it answers the question children and adults tend to ask after a nature film: how did they get that shot? It also stands on its own for anyone curious about Antarctica or about what a filming expedition in such a place involves, because its focus is the team and the conditions they worked in.
Watching Penguins: Life on the Edge on Ktime
K-Time offers Penguins: Life on the Edge with both a Persian dub and Persian subtitles, which makes it an easy choice for a family evening where not everyone reads at the same speed. Sign in to a K-Time account to watch; reading this page is free. The service is designed for the Iranian diaspora and its menus are in Farsi.