Arctic Link

Ian Purnell / Switzerland / 2026 / World Premiere / 82 min

There are still corners of the planet that are not connected to the internet. But there are fewer and fewer of them. In the Arctic Ocean, a colossal ship drifts along, while thousands of kilometers of fiber optic cable slide from the deck into the dark depths of the sea. The internet cable reaches a remote island in Alaska – one of the last communities on Earth that was not yet online. At the same time, the data streams herald a bright future for the local community, which is now – finally – connected to the rest of the world. But what does that really mean?

Filmmaker Ian Purnell has been working on his epic debut for 10 years, and it shows. Everything is enormous – from the massive cables to the images and phenomenal sound design – but the human scale never disappears from view. The islanders reflect on the technological changes based on their own values and worldview, while the Filipino crew aboard the cable ship battle loneliness on the open sea. Their smartphones are their only fragile connection to their homeland on the other side of an increasingly connected globe.