In the 2010s, the Arctic became a key focus of Russia’s economic and geopolitical strategies. Russian interest in the Arctic has longstanding imperial roots dating back to the sixteenth century and successive expeditions to exploit the resources and colonize the land and peoples of the Russian North. The Arctic was of supreme importance during the 1930s, when Soviet Arctic “conquest” and heroism were the focus of the Soviet regime’s nation branding and propaganda. Since the 2010s, Putin has militarised the Russian Arctic in preparation for potential war with Western powers. Furthermore, Russia has exploited new oil and gas reserves revealed by the melting ice (the Arctic is warming at double the global rate, causing ice and permafrost to melt). This is devastating Russian Arctic ecosystems and Indigenous populations now facing environmental catastrophe. Coinciding with Russia’s neo-imperial claims on the Arctic, a number of films have been made that reproduce the narrative of the region as a space of abundance and awe to be exploited and subjugated by the great Russian/Soviet nation. These include Territory (2015); The Tragedy at Rogers Bay (2015); The First (2017); The Great Northern Expedition (2019); and Archipelago (2021). Analysing these works, this paper examines how film propagates Russian (neo-)imperial discourse on the Arctic, thereby contributing to the official discursive practices of nation-building more broadly.