Art Camacho: A Filmmaker's Journey Book Review

Director and action coordinator Art Camacho has been a mainstay in the marital arts world for several decades, recently however, with the release of The Chemist (Assassin X) Art's name has been mentioned more as a talented filmmaker. Art has had his share of set backs in his career path, but manages to stay above the fray and keep positive. His first book, 'A Filmmaker's Journey is an honest, and realistic account of the trials and tribulations of working on independent films, and detailed stories from his humble background.

A Filmmaker's Journey is divided into 18 chapters and at 160 pages is a smooth afternoon read, yet I found myself going back and revisiting several chapters, as Art is keen on realistic advice without being preachy. Art is not afraid to pull the curtain back on his own failures and perhaps allow his own journey help others be better at theirs. Art is brutally honest, yet his refreshing take on making films and learning along the way. Chapter 6 - Confronting My Failures, is Art's revelation of the various difficulties he had in school and including the actress on his film not being able to memorize her lines, nor read her cue cards. What is nice is the fact that Art never dwells on the subject of negativity nor the people involved, he chalks it up to a learning experience. Listen and Learn and Rising Above the Negativity, are two chapters that really hit home for me and also I am sure will resonate loudly to those who have had to deal with the obligatory yet ever present haters in the business. Again, Art keeps it respectful, and rather than being mired in the sadness of things out of his control he offers hope and solutions to things he can change.

The end of the book offers advice to those who wish to be filmmakers. Art Is encouraging, yet unapologetic to those not willing to take the time, to learn and hone their craft. Art is quick with examples and provides some cool photos as well from his various films.

Overall, A Filmmaker's Journey is a great read, a must for action fans and is currently going into the second printing, visit http://martialartsmuseum.com/ for more information as The Martial Arts History Museum and Michael Matsuda are the publishers. For more information on Art, check out his IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0131064/