From filmmaker Zach Carver (TV series “Textual Intercourse”), the adventure documentary The Race to Alaska is a visceral film, embodying the triumph over adversity of a real-life Amazing Race test of endurance – picture the Iditarod on a boat, no motors, no support and 750 miles of tumultuous waters.
The feature film debut recently completed a whirlwind 20 Film Festival run where it won countless awards and captivated audiences around the globe. Adventure Entertainment will release “The Race To Alaska” theatrically in cinema’s in over 40 markets North America on May 20th, beginning with a special preview on the evening of May 19th at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Los Angeles with the filmmakers in attendance for a Q&A.
The Race to Alaska spans 750 miles. Icy water. No motors. No support. Described as “the Iditarod on a boat with a chance of drowning or being eaten by a Grizzly bear,” this epic endurance race attracts the intrepid and unhinged who find their edge along a coastline that is as punishing as it is beautiful.
The Race to Alaska is a sometimes nail-biting and sometimes humorous account of people with larger-than-life personalities testing themselves, and pulling through, time and again. It showcases camaraderie and competition, immersing the audience in the racers’ emotions and experiences – hardship, danger, success, frustration, and elation. From the quirky to the sublime, from Olympic athletes to high schoolers, the characters in this film show that there’s no one way to do the hardest thing you’ve ever done.
The film leap frogs from racer to racer, boat to boat, as they journey up the Inside Passage to Alaska. The landscape in this part of the world is freshly carved by glaciers, and burnished by salt and wind. Coastal mountains meet deep, icy water laden with fierce currents. Boats break, teams drop out, racers fix broken masts and pedal drives on the fly.
The Race to Alaska mixes raw racer-shot footage with vast aerials and in depth interviews to tell the story of the race’s improbable inception, and the journey of the men and women who have answered the call to action. These everyday heroes challenge themselves to find their edge on an exhilarating, engineless charge through the Pacific Northwest, traversing one of the most complex and beautiful racecourses on Earth.
Watch the trailer for The Race to Alaska.