Arctic Alchemy
Renowned adventurer and climate scientist, Roman Dial embarks on a research expedition in the Alaska Arctic where he reckons with the power of wilderness to both break us and bring us alive. Directed by Colin Arisman and Zeppelin Zeerip.
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Co-director, Colin Arisman: Roman Dial is a larger-than-life figure in Alaska’s adventure culture — a scientist, athlete, and storyteller who has devoted his life to exploring the wildest corners of Alaska. Rumor has it that Roman may have covered more miles across the state on foot and by raft than anyone alive today. As a filmmaker and Alaska transplant, I was grateful to meet Roman in person on a film shoot a few years ago. We stayed in touch and last year I asked Roman if I could tag along on one of his arctic research expeditions.
Zeppelin Zeerip joined on as co-director for this film, and with Roman we planned a research expedition into the Brooks Range. The plan was to follow Roman’s team on a 112-mile research expedition, above the Arctic Circle. Traveling by packraft and foot through Alaska’s Brooks Range, Roman would collect water samples in hopes of discovering the source of a mysterious phenomenon poisoning Arctic watersheds. Zeppelin and I just had to keep up and make sure our cameras didn’t fall in the river or short out in the torrential rain.
As the production unfolded and trust grew, our conversations turned inward. Roman reflected on the tragic loss of his son, Cody Roman, and how that experience had reshaped his relationships, tolerance for risk and connection with the natural world. Though he had written about grief in his book “The Adventurer’s Son,” revisiting it on camera was a sensitive and intense experience that we did not take lightly as filmmakers.
What began as a film about science and wilderness became a meditation on emotional resilience. “Arctic Alchemy” explores how curiosity, hope and love endure in the face of loss — and how the act of moving through wild country can offer a way to keep going.
Zeppelin Zeerip joined on as co-director for this film, and with Roman we planned a research expedition into the Brooks Range. The plan was to follow Roman’s team on a 112-mile research expedition, above the Arctic Circle. Traveling by packraft and foot through Alaska’s Brooks Range, Roman would collect water samples in hopes of discovering the source of a mysterious phenomenon poisoning Arctic watersheds. Zeppelin and I just had to keep up and make sure our cameras didn’t fall in the river or short out in the torrential rain.
As the production unfolded and trust grew, our conversations turned inward. Roman reflected on the tragic loss of his son, Cody Roman, and how that experience had reshaped his relationships, tolerance for risk and connection with the natural world. Though he had written about grief in his book “The Adventurer’s Son,” revisiting it on camera was a sensitive and intense experience that we did not take lightly as filmmakers.
What began as a film about science and wilderness became a meditation on emotional resilience. “Arctic Alchemy” explores how curiosity, hope and love endure in the face of loss — and how the act of moving through wild country can offer a way to keep going.