The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights

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“Some of the most subtly shot and well-recorded concert footage ever from a band not named the Rolling Stones.”
- Village Voice

In the summer of 2007, shortly after the release of their 6th album, Icky Thump, The White Stripes headed north of their hometown of Detroit to embark on an ambitious journey across Canada. The plan was to play a show in every province and territory in Canada, from B.C. to Newfoundland to Nunavut. ‘Having never done a tour of Canada, Meg and I thought it was high time to go whole hog… from the ocean to the permafrost’ says Jack White. ‘We wanted to play out of the way towns that don’t usually get shows… the shows are better, it’s better for the people, it’s a better experience, it’s way more unique, something interesting is going to happen… hopefully.’

White called upon filmmaker Emmett Malloy to come and document this trek for the band. Malloy had directed videos for the band in the past, and seemed eager to hit the road with them. Equipped with a couple of 16mm cameras, and a few other documenting devices, the band and crew all headed north. The end result was Under Great White Northern Lights.

Under Great White Northern Lights is a visual and emotional feature length film documenting The White Stripes making their way through Canada and culminating with their 10th anniversary show in Nova Scotia. The film documents the band playing shows all over Canada; from local bowling alleys, to city buses, and onward to the legendary Savoy Theater for the 10th Anniversary show. A show that turned out to be the longest show the band had ever done on stage together.

The film captures intimate moments of Jack and Meg both on and off stage as they travel through some of the most remote parts of the northern Yukon Territory. Along the way, they have some nice casual conversations about their ten years together, fire cannons, play some of their biggest songs together on stage, and even play a ‘one note show.’ The cameras were there to capture every waking moment.