For Deborah Raksany, producing documentaries has always been about more than capturing beautiful landscapes and telling compelling stories. As Senior Vice President and Producer with Giant Screen Films, her mission is to educate, inspire, and provoke meaningful conversations about the natural world. As the name of her company implies, her medium has been giant-screen theaters. Ice Worlds, funded by the National Science Foundation, has been her latest endeavor.

An ambitious project, Ice Worlds follows the NSF-funded THOR (Thwaites Heliophysical Observation and Reconnaissance) expedition to the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, often called the “Doomsday Glacier” due to its critical role in global sea-level rise. The expedition aims to understand how the glacier is responding to climate change, particularly through melting from below due to warm ocean currents. But that’s just the giant-screen documentary.

Ice Worlds is also a collaboration between tribal youth and their elders, with a goal of fostering intergenerational storytelling and community-based environmental action. The series features teenagers from four Native American Tribes, including the Poarch Creek Indians. Under the guidance of mentors like Raksany and her co-Principal Investigator (PI), Dr. Patty Loew, the teens use filmmaking to explore their communities’ connections to the environment and their efforts to preserve natural resources for future generations.

Raksany notes that the youth-led format is a crucial aspect of the project. The project connects a new generation of tribal youth to the ancestral wisdom that has made Indigenous tribes respectful stewards of their lands for generations.
“This project is deeply personal for me,” says Raksany. “It’s about giving a platform to the next generation of Native storytellers. These young people bring a unique and important perspective to environmental change, one grounded in tradition, culture, and a profound respect for the Earth.”

One of Poarch Creek’s standout participants is 15-year-old Alex Bowen. In his documentary segment, Alex takes viewers on a journey through the LongLeaf Pine Forest—a vital ecosystem that his Tribe is working to restore. The Poarch Creek Indians, as Alex explains, are deeply committed to reviving the LongLeaf Pine, a tree that once covered vast areas of the southeastern United States but has been diminished due to logging and land development.

Dr. Patty Loew, a citizen of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe and Professor Emerita at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, has long been a champion of Native American storytelling. As a renowned documentary producer, journalist, and author, she has spent her career amplifying Indigenous voices through media. Her role as co-PI on Ice Worlds is an extension of her lifelong dedication to training the next generation of Native American storytellers.

Raksany is quick to point out that Ice Worlds isn’t just a documentary series—it’s a movement. The teens involved in the project aren’t just capturing stories on film, they’re learning how to become stewards of their communities’ natural resources. By engaging with elders, tribal leaders, and environmental experts, these young filmmakers are gaining valuable insights into the challenges of environmental conservation and the importance of cultural preservation.

The choice to focus on Indigenous perspectives in a project about environmental change is intentional and, according to Raksany, long overdue. “Indigenous communities have always been at the forefront of environmental stewardship, but their voices are often left out of mainstream environmental discussions,” she says. “We hope Ice Worlds will help shift that narrative, showing that traditional knowledge and modern science can and should work together.”

With support from the National Science Foundation, Raksany and her team at Giant Screen Films are ensuring that Ice Worlds not only reaches large audiences through IMAX and specialty theaters but also serves as an educational tool. Partnering with museums, science centers, and schools, GSF is working to create educational materials that complement the films, ensuring that stories from the Poarch community and others will inspire students far beyond their own tribes.

As the series continues to unfold, both Raksany and Loew hope that it will encourage a new generation of Native youth to see themselves as storytellers, filmmakers, and advocates for their land. “These young people are the future,” says Loew. “And through projects like Ice Worlds, they’re showing the world that Indigenous voices are not only vital in the fight against environmental change—they’re essential.”

In a time when environmental disasters are accelerating, the wisdom of Indigenous communities and their deep connection to the land offer powerful lessons for us all. Ice Worlds is more than just a documentary; it’s a call to action, reminding us that the most profound solutions to environmental challenges may come from the voices we’ve too often ignored.