Watch every documentary, adventure film, and sailing expedition in one collection.

GONE WITH THE DUST
 - Overland Adventures, Expeditions & Art

THE QUINTESSENCE OF LIFE - A documentary shot on six continents, capturing a 10-year journey.

GONE WITH THE WIND - Sailing Films, Expeditions & Art

• Runtime: 5 hours of documentary footage

• Year: 2011-2024

• 100% Ad-Free

• By purchasing these films, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age and agree to the viewing of mature, artistic content.

Gifts:

• OPIUM DEN - Art Film
  Sicily, Italy (2020) - Lamu, Kenya (2021) - A sensual exploration of memory, movement, and passion — and the words left unspoken between them.

• YOUTHFUL FOOLS - Podcast Episode

• “Choose to collect memories instead of things” - Elena Levon (Unique card download)

• Access to private instagram account @realelenalevon with all archives and Q&A’s from 2018

IMPACT

“A portion of proceeds from my online store is dedicated to helping individuals, families and local communities in need in Africa and elsewhere — directly, personally, and whenever possible, from my hands to theirs.” - Elena Levon

Note:

A private access link and unique password will be sent to the email you provided. Please allow time for the full fulfillment of your order. Elena Levon is currently on a sailing expedition in the Atlantic Ocean. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this unique journey.

By purchasing any product or film from this store, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age and agree to the viewing of mature, artistic content.

All sales are final.

A documentary shot on six continents, capturing a 10-year journey. With no crew, no corporate sponsors, and zero staging, this independent film offers an unvarnished look at human connection, solo adventure, and extreme exploration.

Discover the answers to the biggest questions we all ask, regardless of skin color, religion, or birthplace. From documenting Yanomami funerary rituals in the Amazon, living in the Darién Gap, and interviewing rebels in Mali, to traversing the Sahara and surviving Category 5 Cyclone Winston in Fiji—this film unites, uplifts, and restores faith that no matter how different we seem, we all share the same soul, pain, and joy.

This 10-year journey will make you laugh, cry, and inspire you to follow your dreams, no matter what obstacles you face at the present moment.

Much of the footage featuring Elena Levon was filmed by the very people she encountered throughout her journeys: members of Indigenous and tribal communities, cowboys, shamans, local islanders, Mauritanian Bedouin women, children in Madagascar, and families she lived with and interviewed. Some had never held a camera before. Other footage was captured by Elena herself.

Rather than relying on a conventional film crew, Levon placed the camera in the hands of the people whose lives she was documenting. The resulting footage was sometimes imperfect, but always spontaneous, raw, and unfiltered.

In this way, the people who might otherwise have remained subjects of the film became part of its creation. Their perspectives, their hands, and their moments behind the camera helped shape The Quintessence of Life—a documentary about life itself.

• Runtime: 60 Minutes

• Year: 2023

• 100% Ad-Free

FILM REVIEWS:

“This isn’t a Hollywood film with a big budget and a production crew. It’s an independent documentary made by one woman, completely alone. I kept asking myself, how the hell did she manage to film all this? Mali during the war? An endocannibalistic ritual with the Yanomami? Unreal. Yes, the filming quality could have been better. But think about it. Productions usually need entire crews, sponsors and studios to reach places like these. She went alone. What fascinated me was that some of the footage was actually filmed by the people she met. We enter their world, and for a moment, they enter ours. And throughout the film, people from completely different cultures answer the same questions we all ask ourselves about life. There’s drama, comedy, sadness and so much humanity. With a bigger crew and a proper production budget, this could have been an award contender. But perhaps that’s exactly the point. It’s imperfect and real. And that’s exactly what makes it so damn human. For once, the title says it all. This really is The Quintessence of Life.” - USA 

“This film touched my heart. So many different faces, places and stories, yet the emotions feel so raw. It made me smile, brought me to tears, and reminded me what really matters in life. Thank you, Elena, for opening up about your personal struggles and letting people see the real you. I recently lost my mom too, and watching those scenes with your mother was especially hard. I sobbed because I knew exactly how much pain was hiding behind your smile.” — South Africa

“What a remarkable journey. I loved how personal and honest this film feels. It reminds you how much beauty there is in the world, and how much we all have in common. Really moving.” - United Kingdom 

“Drawing on a decade of journeys across six continents, Levon’s documentary explores survival, cultural identity, compassion and the extraordinary resilience of ordinary people. Its perspective is especially relevant to audiences familiar with the complexities of cultural difference. Rather than presenting the world merely as a collection of destinations, the film asks viewers to consider the people whose lives give those places meaning.” - Russia 

“A beautiful and unusual documentary. What stayed with me most was the authenticity of the people and the simplicity of the moments. It made me think about my own life and choices long after film ended.” — Germany 

"This is such an amazing testimony to life and living. The smiles, beauty, wonder & wisdom in your film simply stun me. I stand in awe of how you were able to experience all these moments and somehow at the same time capture them to be shared. This is truly a gift to the world -- thank you! I look forward to following your continuing adventures over the next ten years and more...Namaste." - USA

Gifts:

• OPIUM DEN - Art Film
  Sicily, Italy (2020) - Lamu, Kenya (2021) - A sensual exploration of memory, movement, and passion — and the words left unspoken between them.

• YOUTHFUL FOOLS - Podcast Episode

• “Choose to collect memories instead of things” - Elena Levon (Unique card download)

• Access to private instagram account @realelenalevon with all archives and Q&A’s from 2018

IMPACT

“A portion of proceeds from my online store is dedicated to helping individuals, families and local communities in need in Africa and elsewhere — directly, personally, and whenever possible, from my hands to theirs.” - Elena Levon

Note:

A private access link and unique password will be sent to the email you provided. Please allow time for the full fulfillment of your order. Elena Levon is currently on a sailing expedition in the Atlantic Ocean. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this unique journey.

All sales are final.

An Independent Documentary by Elena Levon

Months before the coup. One woman crossed the lines of fear to hear the voices of war.

Mali, January-February 2020

On January 10, 2020, months before Mali’s military coup, independent filmmaker Elena Levon enters the streets of Bamako alone, wearing a black headscarf and carrying a handheld camera.

French flags are burning. Protesters are shouting. Women, elders and community representatives speak passionately about insecurity, foreign intervention and their growing distrust of those in power.

But Levon’s presence arouses suspicion. Some protesters believe she is a French reporter who has come to distort their words. Local men form a protective circle around her, allowing her to continue filming amid the volatile crowd.

Her journey then takes her toward Djenné, where she meets armed Donso fighters who describe their struggle to defend their communities and their resistance to authorities they believe have abandoned them amid violence and insecurity.

When an armed man on a motorcycle, his head wrapped in a blue scarf, points a loaded shotgun at her, Levon must talk her way out of the confrontation. Without a film crew or security team, she insists that she has not come to spread lies but to give the people of Mali an opportunity to speak their truth.

A senior Donso chief is contacted in Bamako and grants permission for her to film. Levon subsequently meets with local chiefs near Djenné, recording the fighters’ perspectives on conflict, rebellion, community defense and their loss of trust in the government and in MINUSMA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. 1 July 2013 to 31 December 2023 (formally terminated and withdrawn at the request of Mali's military government in 2023)

Filmed independently in January and February 2020, Voices of War: Mali — Broken Trust brings together firsthand testimony from protesters, women, elders and armed Donso fighters during a turbulent period in Mali’s history.

Through raw documentary footage and personal encounters, the film preserves voices from the months preceding Mali’s August 2020 military coup, while revealing one woman’s determination to document a conflict without a crew or protection.

They didn’t trust her camera. She came not to speak for them, but to give them the chance to speak their truth.

• Runtime: 30 Minutes

• Year: 2021

• 100% Ad-Free

• Language: Original spoken languages, with English subtitles

Gifts:

• OPIUM DEN - Art Film
  Sicily, Italy (2020) - Lamu, Kenya (2021) - A sensual exploration of memory, movement, and passion — and the words left unspoken between them.

• YOUTHFUL FOOLS - Podcast Episode

• “Choose to collect memories instead of things” - Elena Levon (Unique card download)

• Access to private instagram account @realelenalevon with all archives and Q&A’s from 2018

IMPACT

“A portion of proceeds from my online store is dedicated to helping individuals, families and local communities in need in Africa and elsewhere — directly, personally, and whenever possible, from my hands to theirs.” - Elena Levon

Note:

A private access link and unique password will be sent to the email you provided. Please allow time for the full fulfillment of your order. Elena Levon is currently on a sailing expedition in the Atlantic Ocean. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this unique journey.

All sales are final.

Overland Adventures, Expeditions & Art

Most travel documentaries show destinations. These films froze a moment in history forever.

Namibia • Zambia • Mozambique • Eswatini • Angola • Ethiopia

A growing collection of independently filmed overlanding documentaries. Expeditions across Africa during 2021–2022, a period when much of the world believed travel had come to a standstill.

While news broadcasts spoke of closed borders and restricted movement, another reality existed parallel to the headlines. Roads remained open. Vast stretches of Africa became quieter than they had been in decades. National parks stood nearly empty. Beaches stretched for miles without footprints. Famous landmarks welcomed only a handful of visitors. For a brief moment, some of Africa's most extraordinary places felt as though they belonged to another era.

This collection follows independent overland journeys by motorcycle, expedition vehicle, public transport, and on foot.

"Some journeys are measured in miles. Others are measured in moments that will never happen again." — Elena Levon

You will witness border crossings that were never supposed to happen. Long days spent navigating remote regions. Encounters with hidden from mass tourism tribal communities, ancient rock art, forgotten roads, and places rarely seen by outsiders.

A historical archive of a disappearing Africa and a disappearing way of exploration. It is a story about freedom. The freedom to continue moving when the world said stop.

• Runtime: 2.5 hours of documentary footage

• Year: 2021-2022

• 100% Ad-Free

• By purchasing these films, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age and agree to the viewing of mature, artistic content.

VICTORIA FALLS: THE EMPTY WONDER

Zambia (2021) - A rare record of Victoria Falls during a period of near-total tourism collapse. One of Africa's greatest natural wonders experienced in near solitude.

MOZAMBIQUE: TIDES OF FREEDOM

Mozambique (2021) - Pristine beaches, turquoise waters, and remote fishing communities along an empty stretch of paradise rarely witnessed by modern travelers. Unexpected hospitality, and the rhythms of everyday life along the Indian Ocean.

THE FORGOTTEN SPIRITS OF ESWATINI

Eswatini (2021) - A search for ancient San rock art hidden within one of Africa’s least-visited kingdoms. Camping inside empty national parks, moving through vast wilderness, and encountering local biker communities along the way.

JOURNEY TO THE HIMBA

Namibia (2022) - An expedition into remote northwestern Namibia in search of authentic Himba communities beyond established tourism routes.

THE GODLIKE SONG OF THE RED OCHRE PEOPLE

Namibia (2022) - A rare cultural record documenting life, traditions, and daily realities inside a remote Himba settlement.

UNMAPPED AND UNMASKED: ANGOLA

Angola (2022) - Deserts, tribal territories, and the prehistoric rock art of Chitundo-Hulo. Jorney through some of the country's most isolated landscapes.

JOURNEY TO THE CRADLE OF HUMANKIND

Apollo 11 Cave, Namibia (2022) An expedition to one of the oldest known artistic sites on Earth and a reflection on humanity's enduring desire to create.

KALASHNIKOV'S LULLABY

Ethiopia (2022) Elena Levon’s solo journey by public transport into Ethiopia's remote tribal frontier near the South Sudan border. (war zone)

Gifts:

• OPIUM DEN - Art Film
  Sicily, Italy (2020) - Lamu, Kenya (2021) - A sensual exploration of memory, movement, and passion — and the words left unspoken between them.

• YOUTHFUL FOOLS - Podcast Episode

• “Choose to collect memories instead of things” - Elena Levon (Unique card download)

• Access to private instagram account @realelenalevon with all archives and Q&A’s from 2018

IMPACT

“A portion of proceeds from my online store is dedicated to helping individuals, families and local communities in need in Africa and elsewhere — directly, personally, and whenever possible, from my hands to theirs.” - Elena Levon

Note:

A private access link and unique password will be sent to the email you provided. Please allow time for the full fulfillment of your order. Elena Levon is currently on a sailing expedition in the Atlantic Ocean. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this unique journey.

By purchasing any product or film from this store, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age and agree to the viewing of mature, artistic content.

All sales are final.

Sailing Films, Expeditions & Art

Most sailing films show turquoise anchorages, perfect sunsets, and effortless passages. These films include those moments—but they are defined by what happens in between.

A growing collection of candid sailing documentaries capturing life aboard the 1989, 14-meter Vagabond ketch Rebels during double-handed ocean voyages across the Atlantic.

“If you have ever wondered what ocean voyaging really looks like beyond the glossy narrative, these documentaries offer an honest view from the deck of a classic sailing vessel crossing some of the world's most challenging waters. Welcome aboard Rebels.” — Elena Levon, Co-Captain

It is not a curated social media version of life at sea. It is the raw reality of learning to sail while crossing oceans. When Elena Levon first stepped aboard Rebels, she was not a trained sailor. There were no classrooms, certificates, or protected training waters. The lessons came in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, between countries, in changing weather, during equipment failures, night watches, navigation challenges, and thousands of miles under sail.

You will witness impossible routes fought against winds and currents. Mechanical breakdowns in the middle of nowhere. Encounters with coast guards and wildlife. Long nights without sleep. Moments of uncertainty — and the constant reality every sailor eventually discovers. Yet between the hardships lie the moments that make ocean voyaging unforgettable: the rare feeling of complete freedom that exists only far beyond sight of land.

• Runtime: 1.5 hours of documentary footage

• Year: 2024

• 100% Ad-Free

• Atlantic crossings between the Canary Islands, Madeira, Cape Verde, and the coast of West Africa, revealing both the beauty and the cost of pursuing an unconventional life at sea.

• By purchasing these films, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age and agree to the viewing of mature, artistic content.

—

The next chapter — a six-month West African expedition from the Canary Islands to Angola, (2025-2026) including a crossing of the Central Gulf of Guinea — will be added to this collection in the future.

Gifts:

• OPIUM DEN - Art Film
  Sicily, Italy (2020) - Lamu, Kenya (2021) - A sensual exploration of memory, movement, and passion — and the words left unspoken between them.

• YOUTHFUL FOOLS - Podcast Episode

• “Choose to collect memories instead of things” - Elena Levon (Unique card download)

• Access to private instagram account @realelenalevon with all archives and Q&A’s from 2018

  IMPACT

  “A portion of proceeds from my online store is dedicated to helping individuals, families and local communities in need in Africa and elsewhere — directly, personally, and whenever possible, from my hands to theirs.” - Elena Levon

  Note:

A private access link and unique password will be sent to the email you provided. Please allow time for the full fulfillment of your order. Elena Levon is currently on a sailing expedition in the Atlantic Ocean. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this unique journey.

By purchasing any product or film from this store, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age and agree to the viewing of mature, artistic content.

All sales are final.