Driving from Bangladesh to England in a classic Rolls Royce

by Kraig Becker on

Rupert Grey and his wife Jan are preparing to make an epic road trip this September. The kind of road trip that we all dream about during which we leave our normal, mundane, lives behind in favor of the open road and untold adventures. In this case, our two intrepid travelers will begin their journey in Bangladesh and eventually end up back in their native England, covering thousands of miles in between. But Rupert and Jan aren’t content with just making that journey in just any old vehicle, which is why they’ll be driving their classic 1936 Rolls Royce along the way.

While the start of their adventure is still a few months off, the couple are making preparations for what will likely be a fantastic journey. They will be shipping their car to Chittagong, Bangladesh, where they will set out to drive through Bhutan, Nepal, and India before arriving at the Arabian Sea. From there, they’ll board a ship bound for Iran, where they’ll once again hit the open road, crossing into Turkey and eventually Europe, before returning back to the U.K.

Intrigued by this unique road trip, an independent film company hopes to make a documentary of Rupert and Jan’s journey. Rover Films is currently seeking funding for the project, and have already tentatively named their film A Sense of Adventure. You can check out the teaser trailer for it below.

Reading about this story left me to wondering. If you could take any road trip in any vehicle, where would you go and what would you drive? For me personally, I’d love to go from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa, in a classic Land Rover Defender. Say circa 1985 or so.

How about you?

[Photo credit: Rover Films]


A Sense Of Adventure OFFICIAL TEASER from Rover Films on Vimeo.

Crucifixion nails found in Israel? Probably not.

by Sean McLachlan on

There’s been a shocking archaeological discovery in Israel. Nails from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ have been found!

Well, no, probably not.

The claim comes from Israeli Canadian documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, the Washington Post reports. Jacobovici has done several documentaries on Christian subjects and came across an archaeological report from 1990 mentioning the discovery of nails in the tomb of a man named Caiaphas. For those who know their Bible, this is the same name as the Jewish high priest who plotted to arrest Jesus and then gave him to the Romans. The name is right, the date of the tomb is right, so the nails must be those from the Crucifixion, right?

The Post quotes Jacobovici as saying, “There’s a general scholarly consensus that the tomb where the nails were found likely belonged to Caiaphas. Nails at that time were a dime a dozen, but finding one in a tomb is exceedingly rare.”

Actually neither of these statements is true. The Post quotes an Israeli archaeologist as saying that the inscriptions in the tomb aren’t clear as to the occupant’s identity, and I myself have seen Roman nails turn up in tombs. They were pretty common objects, after all.

The timing of this announcement just before Easter and just before Jacobovici’s next documentary comes out (titled “Nails of the Cross” to air Wednesday on the History Channel), adds to the suspicion that Jacobovici is fooling either himself or us.

There’s also the question of why a Jewish high priest would take the nails of someone who he thought was a false prophet to the grave with him, or even how he got them in the first place since it was Jesus’ family and followers who removed Jesus from the Cross.

In the view of this former archaeologist, this story is more of the usual sensationalism masking as science that fills so much of the media. A bit like the spurious discovery of Caligula’s tomb.

Never fear. There are plenty are saints’ relics in Rome, including enough nails for a dozen Crucifixions. Gadling’s own David Farley has even written a book about the Holy Foreskin, which you can also visit in Italy. Actually there’s more than one relic claiming to be the Holy Foreskin, but that’s another story. . .

[Image of Roman nails courtesy user Takkk via Wikimedia Commons. These are not the same nails that came from the tomb mentioned in this article.]

Video of the Day – Inside North Korea

by Stephen Greenwood on

North Korea is undoubtedly the most difficult country in the world to gain access to, especially if you’re a journalist aiming to produce a video about the reclusive nation. For months, the travel bad boys over at VBS.tv corresponded with North Korea’s representatives to arrange a guided tour of the infamous Mass Games.

After being selected as one of the only groups to cover the event, VBS Founder Shane Smith and director Eddy Moretti were taken on a journey that gets more bizzarre by the minute. From the streets of Pyongyang, to the International Friendship Museum, to deserted banquet halls – it’s worth watching the entire series to get a rare look at a country that rarely exposes itself to the world.

Do you have clips from an epic investigation of your own? Found a video online that inspires you to travel? Share it with us in the comment section below and it could be our next Video of the Day!

Nomading Film Fest seeks travel filmmakers

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Ever wanted to make a movie about your travels? Perhaps you already have? The Nomading Film Festival wants to talk to you. From now through April 2011, this new travel-focused film festival, based in Brooklyn, NY, is accepting submissions from aspiring travel-focused filmmakers everywhere.

The idea behind the Nomading Film Festival is simple. The fest’s creators “believe that stories caught on film, while traveling, are some of the most entertaining, educating, beautiful, and authentic. These are stories which should be shared, acknowledged, and awarded.” Their film festival is the embodiment of this ideal, and they’re striving to get everyone and anyone who likes travel to submit their own entry. Think you lack the movie-making skills to enter? Think again. The philosophy of the Nomading Film Fest is that we are travelers first and filmmakers second. Anyone with a simple point-and-shoot digital camera, Flip or iPhone, a love for travel and some basic editing software is encouraged to enter.

If you’ve ever dreamed of turning that vacation video or backpacking documentary into a reality, here’s your chance. Upload your 15 minutes-or-less video here (along with a nominal entry fee). Selections will be finalized by May next year and the festival will be held June 17th and 18th of 2011 in New York City. Get those cameras rolling!

Acadamy award winning film ‘The Cove’ spurs free speech debate in Japan

by Kraig Becker on

The Academy Award winning documentary The Cove is stirring up controversy in Japan, where several theaters, including one on an U.S. Army base, have removed it from their screens, while others decide if they should risk showing it all. Last week, three theaters pulled the film, which depicts the annual dolphin slaughter in a Japanese village, after they received a number of protests and angry phone calls from nationalist political groups. That caused 23 other theaters to reconsider showing the movie as well.

Meanwhile, a second group, consisting of journalists, filmmakers, and academics, are urging the theaters to reconsider, saying that they should show the film under the country’s constitutionally protected right to free speech. Japan upholds that right, although many of the Japanese people are reluctant to push the boundaries too much.

The Cove gained international attention last year when it exposed the yearly dolphin hunt that takes place near the small Japanese village of Taijii. The film contains scenes of the brutal killing of the porpoises, with the meat being sold into Japanese fish markets, despite the fact that it contains very high levels of mercury. A segment with interviews of common Japanese people on the street shows that most in the country is unaware of the activity at all.

The film is an important one that exposes a dark secret in Japan, but more importantly, it seems to have opened up a new debate over fundamental rights to free speech and sharing of information. But in a country where disharmony and public dissension are frowned upon, it remains to be seen what, if any, impact it’ll have on the culture there.

[Photo Credit: TheCoveMovie.com]