In Search of the Wild Wolf

At the very heart of the Putorana Plateau, inside the Putorana Strict Nature Preserve, picturesque Lake Ayan sprawls between high basalt cliffs. This remote location can only be reached by helicopter, and Norilsk, the nearest city, is 300 kilometers away through virginal taiga.

This is where Arctic researcher Vasily Sarana has decided to shoot a film on wild wolves, dragging along his friend, Valery Fidirkin. The two studied together in the geography department of Moscow State University, and have traveled widely since then, including on a number of joint exhibitions in Siberia. The film on wolves is their long cherished dream.

Sarana is a director and cinematographer, a scientist and investigator. He has worked on the Putorana Plateau for more than 20 years and was very deliberate in choosing Lake Ayan as the site for his film. Not only is this one of the most beautiful places on the Plateau, but it is home to wolves that have never come into contact with people.