CREW REVIEWS

I had a great experience with the company and they provided many resources to help the project succeed. For those serious about run-and-gun documentary filmmaking, this is the program to pursuit!

Creating a short documentary in one month is incredibly difficult and takes a lot of discipline and requires on the fly decision making.

I love learning about other cultures and day to day life in different countries. It would’ve been cool to have been on some of the other crews sets. But i know that there probably wasn’t enough time for that.

Being in Guatemala and working in such a remote community was incredible. I felt as though we really got to know the community and their leaders and build meaningful relationships. Learning so much about Mayan cosmology was just incredible and so unexpected. I think initially the trip was a little disjointed and it took a few days for me to settle in and get into a rhythm. There were lots of strong personalities on the trip and some conflict at times, which was a little challenging. I loved learning about the community’s way of life, their culture and beliefs and what’s important to them. Having Etnica travel as a partner was great, too, as Pablo brought lots of local knowledge and perspectives. I enjoyed learning new skills but that wasn’t really the main reason I travelled – it was more about having a new experience for me, meeting new people and experiencing something new and I definitely did that! I felt like it gave me new perspectives and insights and I made new friends! I feel that I want to travel more now and explore ways of telling important stories about people and places of importance.

After our Storytelling Expedition in Guatemala, I feel equipped to organize a (short) documentary/visual storytelling project by myself now and confident that I can tell a compelling, inspiring story that the community in question also wants to share. This is a skill that I will nourish and continue building on in my (aspiring) career as a visual storyteller, writer, and visual anthropologist. Thank you to Robin, Pablo, our group and Actuality Abroad for this inspiring experience!

I loved the Storytelling Expedition I joined in Guatemala. It gave me the opportunity to explore deep in the Maya Biosphere Reserve at a lesser known archaeological site and met people from the communities that live there. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for somebody who doesn’t work in journalism or film making. The Expedition did teach me the basics of documentary making and directed me to sources that would help me in that respect; so I was given the tools to get me started in my video editing journey. As Actuality Abroad is more accustomed to seasoned filmmakers, I think more coaching would be appreciated for those less experienced on the Storytelling Expeditions. That said, there were still new skill sets I gained through the experience. I loved the projects proposed for the Expedition; they were fascinating. I love that I am walking with new friends and skill sets from this experience.

I met incredible people and discovered a creative industry I knew nothing about. I now found an activity I grew to love and hope to carry on doing in the future. I loved learning about the creative world of film-making and ethical storytelling.

I learned so much through the briefings, my friends from the program, my newfound local friends, different corners of Tangier, Moroccan Arabic and how it compares to Levantine Arabic. It was truly an incredible experience.

I’m not the same person going out of it as I was going in. And all for the better! I find I have more confidence in my ability then I did prior too. Also the connections I made meant more to me than everything else. With my peers and the people that I was graced with meeting. Would do it again in a heart beat. I felt like we were able to explore and learn enough on our own and as a group. The only thing I would’ve liked would have been a couple extra days to spend after we finished the project.

Actuality Abroad is one of those amazing mom and pop organizations that has things so organized and so well planned out with the perfect amount of spontaneity, it’s hard to imagine a better experience could to be produced by anything more or anything less.

Our guide was fun and knew karate, so we were well protected. If i got stuck in an intergalactic elevator, I’d certainly want it to be with one of these guys. We arrived and learned about Documentary filmmaking, and learned the key to visual storytelling– exactly what we came for.

The best part of the experience is that i continue to use what i’ve learned about storytelling in my day to day and i have these guys to thank for that.

Great trip, amazing experience, good price, learned a lot, and the team is great. I hope to do it again soon.