An Interview With World Traveler & Documentary Filmmaker: Brook Silva-Braga
August 3, 2008 by Darren Alff
When Brook Silva-Braga left his job as an Emmy-Award winning TV producer for HBO to spend more than 11 months traveling around the world, his co-workers didn’t know what to think. Carrying 5 pounds of clothing and more than 30 pounds of video equipment in a backpack, Brook would spend the next year traveling through 26 different countries and 4 different continents… recording his journey on tape as he went along.
Upon his return to the United States, Brook moved in with his parents and spent the next few months editing his footage into the award winning film, A Map For Saturday.
I first saw A Map For Saturday when it aired on MTV in February of 2008. The film, which is about the life of long-term backpackers, has a number of themes that the long distance cyclist can relate to… and it is for this reasons that I chased down the film’s Director and asked him for an interview. After more than four months of chasing him through Africa, I finally got Brook Silva-Braga on the phone and the following is what he had to say about his travels, his film, and the life of the long distance world traveler.
To listen to my interview with Brook Silva-Braga, please click the play button below:
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Let’s go! This video really motivates me to plan a trip! Thanks for sharing this great info!
This has got me so excited. I started planning my trip before your interview was even over. Thank you so much! I’m getting the film now. I look forward to seeing it.
The film is well-worth the purchase price of only $15. Even if you saw the Mtv version you should get the full DVD. The film was re-cut to include small bits of post-trip interviews with a lot of the people featured in the film. The bonus features actually seem integral to the film–especially the full post interviews.
Granted, this kind of travel isn’t for everyone and, despite the claims, I don’t think just anyone could do it. You have to be in the right place in life–you have to be able to drop everything for a year and not have to worry about monthly bills, mortgages, whatever. Shorter periods, certainly, but a year is whole other animal.
Great motivational film, though. I highly recommend it. And it definitely gets your toes itching.
After listening to this interview, I was so excited that I ordered the DVD “A Map For Saturday”. This was a high caliber trip that I found very inspiring, and it addressed many issues that I incurred on my short 2 1/2 month backpacking trip around the world. Brook’s journey was truly the adventure of a lifetime. He not only tested his mettle, but he saw many diverse cultures and historical places that most can only dream of experiencing. The memories that he forever holds are unique and incredible. By believing in himself and ignoring the nay-sayers, he achieved what many aspire to do, but sadly are deterred by fear and self doubt. I very much enjoyed this film, and I highly recommend it, especially if you have entertained the idea of backpacking or biking around the world. Don’t wait until you are trapped on that daily “hamster wheel” of life. Stop procrastinating and start living!
I second Brook’s words on travel. Long term travel is something you’ll never regret, is suprisingly easy, and you meet so many amazing people. I also decided to go for it, left a job, and traveled around the world for a year (colin.smugmug.com). Since then I have taken up bike touring and hope to do a long-term bike tour someday.
[...] A Map For Saturday [...]