Alberta Number One review.

Alberta-inspired film has its Edmonton premiere at the Metro Cinema.

Alberta Number One, directed by Alexander Carson and starring Bebe Buckskin, Benjamin Carson, Kris Demeanor, and Randall Okita, made its theatre premiere on Nov. 29, 2025, one year after its world premiere at the 53rd Festival du Nouveau Cinéma Montréal.

The film follows a documentary crew as they embark on a road trip through Alberta in their quest to create an “Untitled Museum project.” Each character finds themselves in moments of conflict, sadness, and internal reflection. It perfectly depicts both the dull repetitiveness of travelling through the Alberta prairies and badlands, pumping gas, sitting in a motel room, and the intriguing whimsy of odd museums and roadside attractions that you might stumble upon. The film features locations such as the infamous gopher museum in Torrington, the alien landing pad in St. Paul, the town of Drumheller, and Banff National Park. It’s a window into what it feels like to explore Alberta, while also being an emotional roller coaster of tension, life, death, and love.

I spoke with the director, Alexander Carson, and learned that the film was inspired by the idea of quaint museums and roadside attractions.

“We wanted to showcase the big, the small, and the between.”
– Alexander Carson, director of Alberta Number One.

“There’s always something happening, and then there’s always something else happening,” says Carson. Carson visited museums expecting to be solely interested in their exhibits, but instead found himself more intrigued by the conversations he heard among the other museum-goers. It is this exact emotion that Carson depicts in Alberta Number One. If you’ve travelled through Alberta or been on a road trip at all, you’ll be able to relate to this movie. It’s not just about Alberta itself; it’s about being on the road with your family or friends and experiencing the odd, quiet, tense, and peaceful moments that are often lost in the busyness of life. Carson’s interpretation of this experience is conveyed in a beautiful and original manner. It feels like you’re on this emotional rollercoaster with the characters. It feels like you could be on that road trip yourself.

The research process for Alberta Number One began in 2017, and it didn’t start production until 2022. “It’s a really long time to work on one thing; luckily, I still liked the project,” said Carson. It’s clear how much effort was put into this film. This is evident not only through the beautiful script, the actors’ performances, and the filmography but also through Carson’s ambition to push forward with the film, despite interruptions from COVID-19 and other funding issues. “I kind of just kept going back to it and back to the funders, and eventually we were successful.”

During the research process for Alberta Number One, Carson visited over 60 places in Alberta, but eventually had to narrow it down due to funding and scheduling conflicts. The locations that ended up in the film were chosen because Carson wanted to showcase the province’s geographical diversity. “We wanted to showcase the big, the small, and the between.”Alberta Number One is an emotionally charged, tense, and unintentionally humorous depiction of what it means to experience an Alberta road trip. If you missed its premiere at the Metro in Edmonton, it’ll be coming to streaming services in 2026.