Packrafts, big questions and the strange magic of the far north
Some expeditions start with a pin dropped on a map. Others start with a question that won’t leave you alone.
Arctic Alchemy, screening as part of the 2026 Banff Mountain Film Festival Tour of Australia, is the latter. Travelling by packraft and on foot through Alaska’s remote Brooks Range, scientist and adventurer Roman Dial and his team set out to investigate a mysterious phenomenon poisoning Arctic watersheds. What unfolds is part expedition, part investigation — and part deeply personal reckoning with wilderness, loss and what it means to keep going.
You can catch this powerful film in cinemas around Australia this May.
A Journey Into the Unknown
The Brooks Range is not a place you pass through casually. It’s vast, cold, untracked and uncompromising — the kind of landscape that strips things back to the essentials very quickly.
Moving through this terrain by packraft and boot, Roman Dial and his team follow rivers upstream, traverse wild valleys and spend long days immersed in a landscape most people will never see. Their goal is scientific: to better understand a strange process affecting Arctic water systems. But as with many deep wilderness journeys, the answers don’t stay neatly contained.
The further they travel, the more the film shifts from “what’s happening out here?” to “what’s happening inside us?”
More Than an Expedition Film
Roman Dial is no stranger to wild places. A Seattle-born adventurer, scientist and author, he’s spent decades exploring Alaska’s backcountry while researching ecology.
In Arctic Alchemy, we see a quieter, more reflective side of exploration. Roman grapples with fatherhood, personal tragedy and the emotional weight that long careers in wild places can carry. The Arctic becomes more than a backdrop — it’s a catalyst. At times harsh, at times healing, it has the power to both break us and bring us fully alive.
It’s a reminder that adventure isn’t always about conquering terrain. Sometimes it’s about letting a place change you.
Filmmaking With Purpose
Visually, Arctic Alchemy is stunning, but its strength lies in intention.
The film is co-directed by Colin Arisman and Zeppelin Zeerip, two filmmakers deeply rooted in environmental and character-driven storytelling. Arisman cut his teeth hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with a camera in hand, and now lives in Alaska creating films that explore ecology, conservation and human relationships with the natural world. His background in sustainability and leadership is felt throughout the film’s careful, thoughtful approach.
Zeerip, brings a sharp eye for story and atmosphere, shaped by years of directing for outdoor brands and advocacy projects. Together, they craft a film that never shouts, never preaches — but quietly asks viewers to pay attention.
Why This Film Hits Home
Arctic Alchemy sits perfectly within the Banff Mountain Film Festival ethos. It’s adventurous yet considered, scientific without being dry, and emotional without ever feeling heavy-handed.
For Australian audiences, there’s something especially compelling about watching people move through a landscape so radically different from our own — yet facing questions that feel universal. How do we respond to environmental change? What do wild places still offer us in an increasingly managed world? And what happens when the journey you set out on turns into something much bigger?
This is a film for people who love rivers and maps, but also for those who understand that the best adventures rarely give you the answers you expect.
See It on the Big Screen This May
Arctic Alchemy is screening as part of the 2026 Banff Mountain Film Festival Tour of Australia, touring cinemas nationwide this May.
If you’re drawn to remote places, thoughtful storytelling and expeditions that explore both landscape and inner terrain, this is one not to miss.
Grab your tickets, find your nearest screening, and join us in theatres this May to experience Arctic Alchemyon the big screen.
