4 Travel Documentaries That Inspire Backpacking Exploration

Throughout my 4-year journey to every African country I’ve been filming to produce:

1. A TV series that shows The Unseen Africa. 
2. A film documentary.
3. Video stock footage.

Regarding #2, I have absolutely no idea how I plan to condense four years of travel into a 90-minute documentary. No clue. I’ll worry about that in 2017. In the meantime, I’ll just keep filming. 

Freddie Trimble, who is works with the Sheffield documentary festival in the UK, wanted to share his four favorite travel documentaries. I’ve only see the first one, but the rest look promising. Check them out.

Guest post by Freddie Trimble and Caroline Schupfer

A travel documentary film gives you an concentrated insight into different cultures and traditions, information on attractions or travel in general, and a greater awareness of different people and their lifestyles. Travel documentaries give you a better understanding of the world, and of the people you share it with, all without trying to sell you some overpriced travel package deal or recommending any commercial tour operators.

As one of the most valuable, yet much underrated and underexposed educational device, travel documentaries supplement your awareness as a human being a little bit at a time. They are filled with real life stories and show you true beauty; triggering your inner wanderlust, appealing to your senses and your true human instincts of wanting to get out there and explore.

Here are some of the best examples of documentaries that will inspire you to backpack to places worth exploring:

Samsara

Ron Fricke’s visual documentary Samsara is definitely out of the ordinary. With his precise and captivating shots we were whisked around the world, experiencing all walks of life; effectively contrasting the overwhelming beauty of the natural world, along with what we see as manufactured destruction.

We were left guessing about where many of the places were due to the absence of a narrator, although it was exciting to recognise a few places that we have been ourselves. One example being the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in Cappadocia, Turkey.

This visual delight will certainly force you to take a step back, and give you a clearer perspective of the brutal diversity of our planet.