[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: How many times have you been arrested in another country?
Marlin Darrah, Filmmaker: It seems like in the so many countries I’ve been to where I’ve been arrested and detained. I think mainly it’s been at least 15 times minimum. I can remember being detained/arrested several times in holding pens. It’s usually in communist countries and in Islamic countries, almost always detained or arrested.
What happens is obviously if it’s an Islamic country and you don’t have necessary permits, if you’re just doing a travel show or a very small scale documentary, there’s always somebody that’s interested in coming up and extracting a little money from you. Sometimes it’s just a novelty and it doesn’t bother me at all. But sometimes then people will come up and it’s a policeman or undercover cop or somebody.
This happened in Cuba where I was detained and arrested and taken in for questioning twice on one trip, even though I’ve been there half a dozen times to Cuba. I love, love that country. It’s just a deeply emotional experience to go to Cuba. It’s so much for us to learn but they’re also very sensitive about embarrassing them and that’s usually the case when you’re a travel filmmaking person, often they’re worried about you showing them in a bad or negative light and they don’t want to be embarrassed on the international stage by showing the poverty that may be there or just the the filth, the exposed garbage or construction, falling down buildings, falling down whatever. They don’t want to have that shown and so…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
About:
Marlin Darrah is probably the world’s most traveled filmmaker. Darrah’s ‘s 44 years of award-winning production experience have taken him to more than 140 countries worldwide, yielding more than 100 documentary, travel-adventure programs and dramatic movies to date.
In 2023, Darrah completed his third feature film “An Egypt Affair,” an award-winning suspense-thriller that was entirely filmed in Egypt, along the Nile River between Luxor and Aswan.
One of his more recent feature films is “Amazon Queen” – an 85-minute adventure-thriller shot entirely in the Brazilian Amazon. The film was completed in September 2021 and is presently being distributed throughout N.America and worldwide, by Vision Films of LA. “Amazon Queen” has enjoyed millions of views on streaming platforms worldwide. That film won awards and nominations at more than 100 international film festivals.
Marlin also wrote, directed and produced the acclaimed 90-minute dramatic feature film, “Monsoon Wife,” in Cambodia – the first American movie shot entirely in that SE Asian country since “Lord Jim.” Universal Studios acquired Darrah’s movie and television rights were sold to more than a dozen countries.
In September 2014, Darrah was honored with a Knighthood in the Royal House of Portugal, presented by His Royal Highness Dom Pio. This was in recognition of Darrah’s extensive worldwide educational and charitable film productions Darrah’s international shots have been aired on programs appearing on all the major television networks, including PBS, History Channel and Discovery Channel.
His twenty 90-minute geo-travel lectures and features have been presented to audiences in more than 100 theaters and auditoriums across America, including venues such as the Harvard Club and the Philadelphia Geographical Society. Recently, a two-hour documentary Darrah shot and directed in Egypt was screened at the Cairo Opera House to an audience of 3000 guests. National Geographic represents and markets thousands of Darrah’s best worldwide shots.
WATCH ‘AMAZON QUEEN’
Tubitv.com/movies/678598/amazon-queen
WATCH ‘AROUND THE WORLD WITH MARLIN DARRAH’
Tubitv.com/series/300005580/around-the-world-with-marlin-darrah
SUBSCRIBE TO MARLIN DARRAH ON YOUTUBE
CONNECT WITH MARLIN DARRAH
EGYPT AFFAIR – Behind the Scenes – 7min – LIN ZUO shots –
A Film by Marlin Darrah
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