Nature is a force to be reckoned with — if you manage to not be swallowed up by it first.

On May 28, 2008, Adam LeWinter and Jeff Orlowski filmed a historic breakup at the Ilulissat Glacier in Western Greenland. The “calving” event lasted for 75 minutes and the glacier retreated a full mile across an area three miles wide. The height of the ice is about 3,000 feet, 300-400 feet above water and the rest below water.

“The only way you can really try to put it into scale with human reference is if you imagine Manhattan,” Orlowski said. “All of a sudden, all of those buildings start to rumble and quake and peel off and just fall over and roll around — this whole massive city just breaking apart in front of your eyes.”

The footage is from Chasing Ice, which won the award for Excellence in Cinematography at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and the Best Documentary from the International Press Association. It has won over 30 awards at festivals worldwide.

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