A Heritage Woods secondary grad will be setting off on one of the world's most ancient pilgrimages, hoping to discover the secrets of spirituality, make a documentary and simply survive the 800-km trek.
Coquitlam resident Devan Scott is one-third of Sad Hill Media; along with fellow filmmakers Will Ross and Daniel Jeffery, the trio will walk the Camino de Santiago - known as The Way of St. James - from St. Jean Pied de Port in southeastern France to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where it's believed the remains of St. James the Great are buried.
Along the way they'll interview fellow pilgrims from all backgrounds, with each of the three filming the walk from their own perspectives as well.
The trio expects to depart for Europe in mid-September. And once they return, they'll be spending months editing the footage into a documentary titled We Three Heathens.
"The idea of pilgrimage has always been a big interest for me. It sort of stems from my interest in the world of spirituality and organized religion," Scott said.
It was another documentary experience that really piqued his curiosity, Scott added, when he lived with the monks at Mission's Westminster Abbey for four days, a couple of years ago.
"It got me really thinking about the lifestyle of religious people and especially in the case of the monks, how calm they were and how at peace they were," Scott said.
Taking part in the Camino de Santiago - walking, talking with other pilgrims and filming the trek - will be a way for him to experience a way of life and culture, and draw lessons from it, that he wouldn't otherwise be exposed to, Scott added.
The group chose the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage because of its immense popularity as well as the chance to soak up the scenery and culture of France and Spain.
"Between a few hundred and a few thousand [people] embark on it every day," Scott said of the Camino de Santiago. "It will give us a huge amount of opportunity to meet people and interview them and get a sense on a wider scale why they're doing it."
One of the main challenges, the trio has discovered, will be efficiency.
Scott has been logging three-hour walks every day or two, but when the three took a recent training walk from SFU to North Vancouver and then on to Stanley Park, filming as they went, it took a whopping 11 hours. "That was interesting," Scott laughed. "We probably wasted a good four hours filming so we'll have to keep that in consideration."
Another challenge will be raising the necessary funds for the venture. An Indiegogo fundraising campaign opened on July 1 has so far brought in close to $9,000 of their $10,000 goal.
To donate, visit sadhillcemetery.com.
