Into the Great Solitude | PBS Special Documentaries - Solo Canoe Journeys with Robert Perkins

This now classic outdoor adventure film tells the story of Robert Perkins’ seventy-two day solo canoe journey in the Canadian Arctic. Perkins not only takes on arduous physical challenges, but he lyrically describes in film and language how the journey helps him make peace with a difficult father.

Winner of many major awards, his best-known work provides a captivating look at Perkins as a young man willing to take on the challenges of the Canadian Arctic on a long solo canoe trip. Battling rapids and black flies, while dancing with his own demons and his shadow, Perkins explores what it means to survive in the stark beauty of the Canadian tundra. Perkins not only takes on arduous physical challenges, but he lyrically describes in film and language how the journey helps him find peace with his father.

For more information on Robert Perkins and his books, films, and art, visit https://robertfperkins.com/.

“Robert Perkins has pushed the envelope of the documentary / essay film, creating works that are both searingly honest and engagingly personable." — Phillip Lopate, New York film critic This now classic outdoor adventure film tells the story of Robert Perkins’ seventy-two day solo canoe journey in the Canadian Arctic. Perkins not only takes on arduous physical challenges, but he lyrically describes in film and language how the journey helps him make peace with a difficult father.

Winner of many major awards, his best-known work provides a captivating look at Perkins as a young man willing to take on the challenges of the Canadian Arctic on a long solo canoe trip. Battling rapids and black flies, while dancing with his own demons and his shadow, Perkins explores what it means to survive in the stark beauty of the Canadian tundra. Perkins not only takes on arduous physical challenges, but he lyrically describes in film and language how the journey helps him find peace with his father.

For more information on Robert Perkins and his books, films, and art, visit https://robertfperkins.com/.

“Robert Perkins has pushed the envelope of the documentary / essay film, creating works that are both searingly honest and engagingly personable." — Phillip Lopate, New York film critic