Category Archives: Spain

It is nice to see that people are liking my new film, The Way, my journey along the Camino de Santiago. It is quite a personal film, so it is positive for me to see that people can relate to my honesty.

Below are a couple of reviews from around the world:

Absolutely Amazing
I don’t know if you refer to it as a documentary or a short film or simply a project, but I’ll tell you this much…this film deserves an award of some kind. Mark, I’ve watched my share of travellogues and documentaries over the years and you can do the world a favor by continuing to make films like this for as long as you are able. I swear to you that I am not blowing smoke up your ass (arse) when I say this…you are a true professional. You must keep doing this kind of filmmaking. I’ve watched these types of films on tv and a lot of the so called ”real pros” can’t hold a candle to your work. I have already watched ”The Way” three times this week. Needless to say…I think it’s great.

Through this film you have made me want to take part in mountain climbing / hiking again. We are just heading into our winter months back here, but come March and the spring thaw, you can bet that thanks to you, I will be enjoying many hikes into and around the wilds once again. You have already brought back many happy memories for me of all the times I spent with my dad when I was a young man hiking the mountains with him. You have..through your film..rekindled my love for the outdoors, and for that I can’t thank you enough. You work a sort of magic with your filmmaking..don’t ever stop.

Dan Horne, Massachusetts, USA

“The Way” is a terrific film of spiritual adventurer Mark Shea’s search for personal meaning walking along the picturesque landscape of Spain’s Way of St James. Carrying his own video equipment Mark limps through mud, rain and wind wondering if he has the stamina to keep going. We see Mark struggle to make sense of the journey and ponder some of life’s deeper mysteries. Good to see an Australian have the courage to make a film like this as spiritual pursuits of this kind are not commonly shown or spoken about by the average Australian male.

Frank Gapinski, Australian Filmmaker

I like the story because it really shows a person changing his view of
the world. From being optimistic and light-headed, without that much
of a purpose, to being thoughtful and quite bewildered about the
discoveries that the pain and the solitude bring.
You can see a kind of mystical revolution going on in the filmmaker. Not
everything that goes through his head is told in the doco, and it is
easy to see that there is a lot that he thinks and doesn’t want to tell.
That’s fine, that way we can all identify a bit with him and put our
thoughts in his head.
The storytelling is good, is it easy to share with the moments of
pain, of boredom and of amazement. There are several points where I
laughed quite hard, like when the filmmaker admits to being sick of everything,
or when he finds the river in Galicia.
I liked very much the sound on the doco. The walking sounds added a
lot of atmosphere, and the time when the filmmaker is heard singing terribly
while he walks, a song that could probably go on and on for hours,
reminded me of when we would sing too while walking. It also made me
feel that the filmmaker was going a bit crazy! In general I think that the way
the doco sounds is one of the best points.

Alberto Cuesta Cañada, Spanish Scientist

I have recently been watching your film Mark and been totally engrossed. I found myself smiling at the screen so often. Congratulations …. you did a great job.

Deborah Rogowski

I spent my yesterday watching your Camino experience. Yours is the only fully documented one I have come across thus far. I enjoyed the realness of it. I liked seeing someone not afraid to speak of the problems and weaknesses they had during their journey. So many only tell you of the positive.

Heather Nelson Wright

“Your film is the ‘real deal’ the pain, passion, unwinding story and spiritual growth. I like what you said at the end about the baggage we collect in our lives, very true.
I brought your film to share with people because no way can you explain it and your journey does this very well.”

Christopher, Amsterdam

The Way – Camino de Santiago film is now available at our shop in both dvd and downloadable format.

The download is under 500 MB in size, is in quicktime .mov format and is set for widescreen viewing.
The download price is only $9.95 AUD and anyone who downloads the movie, and then wishes to get the dvd version, will have the price they paid for the download taken off the price they pay for the dvd, thus reducing the price of the dvd to $20 AUD (ex postage)

To win a dvd of The Way, watch the promo video closely and try and find two items that have been added to the video, but don’t belong. A clue – think subliminal. The competition is open to subscribers of my youtube channel and my website, overlander.tv. Just email your answers via my website overlander.tv or my youtube channel, youtube.com/overlander. The competition will be drawn Friday 21st November and the lucky winner will be announced via video.

Thank you for your time Mark, can I first ask you why you decided to walk the Camino?

I first heard about the Camino in Paulo Coelho’s book, The Pilgrimage. I was fascinated by the history and mysticism mentioned in Paulo’s book, and started doing my own research with regard to the belief that the Camino can be a life changing spiritual experience. The idea of my film, was to walk the Camino, from the French/Spanish border, right across the Pyrenees, and document my own feelings, trying not to let my own beliefs and prejudices influence what I experienced.

You did the Camino alone, with no camera crew. Did this influence how you put the film together?

I was lugging about 18 kilograms of gear, way too much I discovered early on. To do the Camino in the time I had allotted, I had to adapt my filming style. I found it to be too time consuming to set up my video camera several times a day as I was walking, so I incorporate a lot of still photos in my film. As a filmmaker, I have never liked using ‘talking heads’ shots, that is a shot of someone talking directly to the camera or being interviewed in front of the camera. I believe it is lazy filmmaking, to just film someone talking and not use cut away shots to visually tell a story. In ‘The Way’ a lot of the film is me talking directly to camera, so the whole experience of making this film, has really stretched me as a filmmaker.

You are really quite honest in what you were feeling during the Camino, Was it painful to watch the footage back, remembering some of the difficulties you faced?

I wanted to be honest in explaining the Camino experience, and a lot that experience, particularly in the early stages, when your body is adapting to daily walking, is not particularly glamorous. A lot of times in those early pieces to camera, I’m talking about the difficulties I am experiencing, the aching muscles, dealing with inclement weather and crowded living conditions. But this is all part of the experience, and if I was to delete these scenes, I am not being truthful to that experience, and you wouldn’t see the transformation that occurs later on.

It is amazing to watch your progression, from freshly shaved to fully bearded, your commentary going from unsure to exuberant. You mention three stages of the Camino in your film, can you please elaborate?

The first stage is called the Physical Stage. No matter how fit you are, the Camino will test your body. The end of this stage usually ends in a ‘runner’s high’ experience, I was lucky to capture mine on film.

The next stage, the Emotional Stage, occurs during the Meseta, the flat lands. By now you are getting sick of the walking, and the long distances lead to introspection. For me, I had to really just accept the walking, forget about the next town, the next meal, and totally be ‘in the now’ It was only when I let go of all the noise in my head, that I was able to reach a meditative state.

The last stage, the Spiritual, occurs in the beautiful countryside of Galicia, ancient forests and gentle streams. It is in this stage that you really start enjoying the daily walks, they become like a walking meditation, an appreciation of nature.

Finally Mark, was the Camino a life changing experience for you?

I didn’t think it was, until I received an email from a fellow Pilgrim. A German girl I met on the Camino informed me she had just finished her Yoga teaching exams and was now a fully qualified Yoga Teacher. Before the Camino, she was a secretary.
I sent her and email back, congratulating her, and saying she was a great example of someone who had done the Camino, and changed their life. She sent me an email back saying, ‘So was I!’ At the time I was working in a Prison, as a pre release program co-ordinator. It took someone else to make me realize the changes that had occurred in my own life!

After the Camino, I still find walking a meditative experience, and I am no longer held captive by consumerism. The experience of walking the way, carrying my belongings on my back has really lead to a scaling down of my lifestyle, not just with regard to my belongings, but also with regard to the noise all around me in my daily life, the bad news on the television, the crap I am force fed in advertisements and political spin.
Interview by Mercedes Ramallo, Spain

The 2nd preview of the new film by overlander.tv about the Way of St. James in Northern Spain. The camino is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, but this doesn’t mean it was easy. In this preview, the rain, the early morning wakeups, the constant walking, got the better of me, and I questioned why on earth I was even doing the Camino!