• Ethan Clark on the importance of travel filmmaking and local storytelling 

Travel has fascinated humanity since the beginning of time. From migration to seeing what each destination has to offer, humanity was never meant to immobile. Indeed, the world today would be unrecognisable if humans didn’t feel the need to travel and explore. 

Though the world today is now mostly charted, travel is how people can see the world around them. From what surrounds them at home to the wonders of far flung destinations. And this is possible due to the people who visually document their travels. One such travel documentarian is filmmaker Ethan Clark.  

Long before travel became a profitable content niche, Clark was already filming everyday life from family trips, bus rides and moments that most people would dismiss in a bid to take the best of Sri Lanka to travellers across the globe.

Today, Clark has built a career as a travel filmmaker, focused on showing Sri Lanka through the eyes of a local and working on his new film ‘‘Born from the East, West and South of Sri Lanka’. “I just kept filming everything,” Clark told The Daily Morning Brunch  of how it all began. “We made videos from scratch on phones.”

An early curiosity for exploring

Clark’s first steps into filmmaking began around 2010, when he was about 10 years old. He didn’t see it as a career at the time. It was closer to a creative hobby. There was no structure, no formal editing style and no expectation of quality. He was focused on exploring his passion. That  practice paid off. Without training or equipment, he taught himself the techniques of filmmaking. Editing happened on the same phone he filmed with. His first short film was about three minutes long and was shot on an iPhone 11 with friends during a bus journey. He edited everything on his phone and honed the skills that would become so invaluable to what he does today. 

“I used his cousins’ phones and cameras to record whatever was happening around me, from trips to conversations,” he said.

Looking back, Clark doesn’t describe his early work as polished or professional. But it mattered because it proved that he could finish a project. “That first video had potential,” he said. “People told me to keep going.”

Soon after, technical limits pushed him forward again. His phone ran out of storage. That problem made him move toward proper camera equipment.

Exploring our island nation

The real change came in 2014, when Clark took his first solo trip to southern Sri Lanka. 

He met other creators, travellers and photographers who were also documenting their experiences. For the first time, he saw filmmaking as an art rather than just personal experimentation.

During that time, he worked with small businesses, including cafés and tourism brands, creating content while continuing to travel and film. He also met international creators while living and working in different locations in Sri Lanka. “I worked as a brand ambassador for Tattoo Paradise and helped Café One Love create content,” he said. “I met so many foreigners there.”

One of the most important chapters in Clarke’s journey happened in Ella, which began as a visit turned into a two-year stay, where he was also able to interact with content creators all across the globe and gain new perspectives.  “It changed everything for me,” he said. “Meeting other creators made me want to take it seriously.”

Learning different styles and approaches to content creation has led Clark to explore how best to tell Sri Lanka’s story to the world. “Travel films can give people a real feeling of a place,” he said. “Travel filmmaking especially is going to become very valuable in the next few years because it requires multiple skills and you are the director, editor, colour grader, producer, everything.”

Clark said that travel filmmaking is not only a way to bring the country together after hard times such as a global pandemic and an economic crisis, but also a way to tell the world our stories using our creative abilities. “So when you say you are a travel filmmaker, the right people understand exactly what that means,” he said. 

Why documenting Sri Lanka matters

Clarke’s motivation is connected to how Sri Lanka is shown to the world. When he searched online for travel content about his own country, he noticed something missing: local voices.

“When you search Sri Lanka travel on YouTube, it’s mostly outsiders showing the country,” he says. “I want Sri Lankans to show Sri Lanka.”

This idea was what motivated him as a filmmaker. His work now focuses on creating travel films that feel real and authentic. For him, the goal is not just to show tourist traps but to show the real experiences that are often missing from travel content while exploring what he loves. 

“I love travelling, experiencing life, going solo, meeting people and capturing their stories and adventures,” he said. 

This passion is what helps him navigate the journey of bringing a creative art form into a modern and increasingly digitised space. 

Looking at filmmaking anew

Clark describes travel filmmaking as one of the most demanding creative roles today. A single person often has to handle direction, shooting, editing, sound and colour work.

“You are everything in one,” he said.That challenge is part of what attracted him to the field. It forces independence and learning. It also makes the final result deeply personal.

However, for many creators, including filmmakers themselves, the modern media landscape can provide its own unique challenges. An increasing demand for short form content and the use of artificial intelligence  in storytelling has become a hotly debated topic. 

Like many creators in traditional filmmaking spaces, Clarke is cautious about artificial intelligence in creative work and expressed a preference for human creativity.  “I come from a background where everything was done from scratch from planning, shooting , travelling and editing,” he said. “It all comes from real effort and experience.” 

For him, filmmaking is tied to memory and experience. He believes that true filmmaking comes from being present in a moment and not through generative AI. “I prefer real cameras and real experiences,” he said. “We make films to capture feelings we can look back on years later.”

Clark is now preparing for ‘Born from the East, West and South of Sri Lanka’, which will be a large-scale travel film set in Sri Lanka before he moves on to work in Bali.

The project focuses on adventure and extreme sports such surfing, diving, motocross, skydiving and other outdoor activities. He also wants to include local athletes, especially Sri Lankan surfers who are rarely featured in mainstream travel content.

“There are so many untold stories here,” he says. “I want to show that side of Sri Lanka.”

He also wants to showcase that Sri Lankan travel can break stereotypes and is inclusive. “I’ve noticed that a lot of Sri Lankan women do not take up surfing as a sport,”he said. “I plan to challenge that stereotype and encourage women in the country by featuring a female surfer in Sri Lanka in my latest film.” 

This project also marks a shift in his process: from solo phone-based filmmaking to working with a team and more advanced equipment, showing that Sri Lankan art can be innovative as well as authentic. Clark’s work is shaped by the motive that Sri Lanka should be seen through Sri Lankan eyes. As he prepares for larger projects and international work, he focuses on remaining grounded and telling real stories from real places and real people, taking a tiny island to the global stage.