AWE
Polar explorer Ann Bancroft thrives in extreme conditions. Ann is a force of nature herself.
Nothing can stop her from pursuing her lifelong obsession to ski across Antarctica.
Ann thrives in extreme conditions.
In her first expedition, Ann fought off Arctic wolves, plunged into the Arctic Ocean as the ice gave way, and wrangled dog sled teams, on the way to becoming the first woman to trek to the North Pole—as the only female member of the 1986 Steger Expedition.
Ann is a force of nature herself.
Eager to lead her own expedition, Ann plans the American Women’s Expedition (AWE), a transcontinental crossing of Antarctica, the coldest, driest, windiest place on Earth. Ann risks life and limb in pursuit of her lifelong obsession to do what no woman has ever even attempted!
“For me, exploration is about the journey to the interior, into your own heart. I’m always wondering, how will I act at my moment of truth? Will I rise up and do what’s right, even if every fiber of my being is telling me otherwise?”
Ann Bancroft
In this harrowing true story
Ann and her team of three other extraordinary women outdoor athletes set out on the historic three-month journey, each pulling their 200-pound sleds of their survival gear through brutal subzero temperatures and blizzard conditions.
The team is in a race against time.
They must dramatically increase their miles per day before the coastal waters freeze and their ship has to leave without them, stranding them on the barren continent. They trained hard for this. Ann is confident they can do it. She must convince the team to dig deeper, to push way past their limits, to persevere. At the very end of the Earth, where the smallest mistake could cost them their lives, there is literally nowhere to hide from themselves, their demons, or each other.
“The voices of women need to be heard. The volume needs to be turned up.”
Ann Bancroft
CHARACTERS
Ann Bancroft
THE VISIONARY
A focused and driven polar explorer, Ann is a bold risk-taker. Compelling and persuasive, she is a force of nature herself.
(Tatiana Maslany, Emma Corrin, Claire Foy)
Sue Giller
THE GOAT
A skilled mountaineer, Sue is a perfectionist—private, fastidious, and unapologetically blunt.
(Kate Winslet, Hilary Swank)
Anne Dal Vera
THE HEART
A superb skier and veteran outdoor trip leader, Dal Vera is emotional—she wears her heart on her sleeve.
(Allison Miller, Elizabeth Olsen)
Sunniva Sorby
THE SPIRIT
Sunniva is athletic and outgoing—people like her right away. The least experienced, she is a last-minute addition to the team.
(Emilia Clarke, Alicia Vikander, Melissa Roxburgh)
BASED ON
A TRUE STORY
Screenwriter Kristen Golden met Ann in 1987 while working as Gloria Steinem’s assistant at Ms. magazine. Ann was being honored as a Ms. Woman of the Year for becoming the first woman to trek to the North Pole, as the only female member of the 1986 Steger Expedition. They became fast friends. Ann loved the expedition experience but realized she wanted to do things differently–more collaboratively, with all women, and with her leading the way. A petite lesbian with a learning disability, Ann faced significant hurdles in pursuing her dream but she never doubted herself. To date, Ann is one of only a handful of women in history who have had the courage and skill to cross Antarctica’s vast interior, and she is a champion of preserving its natural state. With the utmost respect for the land, Ann made sure the AWE team packed out everything they brought with them.
“Drawn to stories that rely on the character’s insatiable desire to surmount improbable odds, I’ve been fascinated by Ann Bancroft’s remarkable expedition ever since she told me of her desire to cross Antarctica years ago. What made her attempt the impossible? Where did she find the emotional and physical reserves when pushed far beyond her limits? I loved the challenge of digging into what motivates Ann and portraying that in a way that is compelling and accessible to the general public.”
Kristen Golden, Screenwriter
CLIMATE IMPACT
When Ann Bancroft was nine years old, she built an ice cave near her home in Minnesota, and from there, spent hours and hours of winter camping and imagining what the great white continent would look and feel like. But today, the harmful effects of rapid climate change are dramatically impacting the polar regions.
Nima Sarikhani won the Wildlife Photographer Photo of the Year People’s Choice award for “Ice Bed,” the heartbreaking photo of a polar bear clinging to the ice. He says, “Whilst climate change is the biggest challenge we face, I hope that this photograph also inspires hope; there is still time to fix the mess we have caused.”
Warming in the Arctic is happening THREE TIMES as fast as the global average.
The polar bear population is expected to DECLINE BY 30% BY 2050.
Antarctica is the world’s CLIMATE ENGINE.
Collapsing ice shelves could lead to SEVERAL FEET OF SEA RISE by 2100.
ARCTIC NORTH POLE
ANTARCTICA SOUTH POLE
The rapidly diminishing Arctic sea ice is ACCELERATING WARMING for the entire Earth.
Critical summer Arctic sea ice is shrinking by 13% PER DECADE.
Antarctica has experienced air temperature INCREASES 3°C.
Antarctica is melting at an average rate of about 150 BILLION TONS PER YEAR.
With her visceral and profound connection to this mysterious part of the world, Ann is ready to tell her unique story. Her legacy is one of discovering the beauty and power of this southernmost end of the earth, a delicate place where nature and human nature have dwindling time to regain a respectful coexistence before the negative impacts of climate change are irreversible.
By producing the film AWE, Ann hopes to ignite a sense of urgency that inspires others to answer the clarion call rising from the bottom of the world—to mitigate and reverse climate change in Antarctica and across the world.
- “Rising from the Antarctica, a Climate Alarm” – NY Times
- “Humanity should not test whether Antarctica’s ice will hold out” – Washington Post
- “Climate Change at the Poles”, Smithsonian Institute
- Arctic WWF
- Hearts in the Ice
- Climate Justice Alliance
- UN Sustainable Development Climate Justice Goal
- Discovering Antarctica
“I wanted that adventure. I wanted to see the top and bottom of the world. To really tap into my imagination, which is deep and wide to this day.”
Ann Bancroft
THE TEAM
KRISTEN GOLDEN
SCREENWRITER
Kristen Golden is a feminist writer and activist whose creative work runs the gamut of genres. She is the writer of the screenplay AWE, for which she won the 2023 Chinonye Chukwu Emerging Writer award from the Athena Film Festival, and she was one of six screenwriters selected for the 2022 Athena Film Festival’s Writers Lab. She is the co-author with her wife, Barbara Findlen, of the book Remarkable Women of the Twentieth Century: 100 Portraits of Achievement. Kristen was a contributing editor to Ms. magazine, and she is currently the speechwriter for the Women’s Media Center. As a five-time cancer survivor, Kristen has had to gather the courage and mental fortitude to push through painful treatments—which at times felt like a solo expedition of epic proportions.
MELISSA SILVERSTEIN
PRODUCER
Melissa Silverstein is the Founder and Publisher of Women and Hollywood, an initiative and website that educates, advocates, and agitates for gender diversity and inclusion in Hollywood and the global film industry. She is a speaker and consultant with extensive expertise in the area of women and Hollywood. She is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of The Athena Film Festival at Barnard College, which is an annual weekend of inspiring films that tell the extraordinary stories of fierce and fearless female leaders. She also founded the Girls Club—a community for women creatives, culture-changers, and storytellers to connect, create, network, advocate, support, and redefine entertainment.
Dream on!
The tenacity and courage that define her character have earned Ann worldwide recognition as one of today’s most influential role models for women and girls. For 25 years, Ann has been inspiring and supporting girls to live their dreams through the Ann Bancroft Foundation.
Join the adventure
Bring this fast-paced, gripping feature film to the screen.
Audiences are hungry to see women taking bold risks, and there is a dearth of films with strong lesbians as lead characters who accomplish the seemingly impossible.
Pitch deck and script available upon request.
Email address explore@awethefilm.com or fill out the form.