Carl Tomich — Documentary Filmmaker
I've moved to Berlin with no money to document street musicians. I've attempted to sail around the world and failed. I've returned to the streets a decade later. Now I'm documenting my immersion into multiple martial arts systems across Asia.
This is not a lifestyle brand. This is a documentary career.
View Filmography
2014 — Remastered Edition
Moved to Berlin with no money and a guitar. Challenged myself to live only on busking income for a year while documenting the street music scene.
2022 — YouTube Only
Attempted to sail around the world. COVID restrictions and an unorganized crew turned it into a documentary about failure. No IMDb page.
Watch on YouTube →
2024 — Sequel to Busking for Berlin
Returned to Berlin's streets a decade later. A sequel exploring how the busking scene evolved and what happened to the artists.
Watch Film →
2025-26 — Title TBD
Documenting my immersion into multiple martial arts systems across Asia—Karate, Boxing, Muay Thai, Vovinam. Filming in Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries.
Follow Production →This documentary follows my immersion into multiple martial arts systems across Asia as a narrative constraint for a long-form film about uncertainty, aging, obsession, and creative survival.
I'm training in Karate, Boxing, Muay Thai, Vovinam, and other regional martial arts. This is not a sports film. This is not a fitness journey. This is not a discipline brand.
Martial arts exist here as a story engine—a way to impose structure, risk, and physical stakes inside a life that has no fixed base.
Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries
Principal photography ongoing
Uncertainty, aging, obsession, creative survival
Multiple martial arts as story structure
A short cinematic film shot in Hanoi, exploring isolation, night streets, and quiet movement through the city.
I intentionally burn down my life every few years and walk into something I'm not qualified for. Then I document what happens.
I've lived on the streets of Berlin with a guitar. I've joined a sailing expedition that fell apart. I've moved to countries where I don't speak the language. I've started training in martial arts I knew nothing about.
These aren't lifestyle choices. They're documentary projects.
Risk. Uncertainty. Failure. Obsession. Rebuilding. Turning chaos into films.
The slow realization that the place you grew up in isn't the place you belong anymore. And what happens when you walk away.
Read →Starting over. Identity crisis. The strange freedom of having nothing to lose.
Read →Stock footage. YouTube ad revenue. Affiliate links. The unglamorous reality of funding independent documentary work.
Read →Professional equipment I use to make documentaries. Cameras, audio gear, editing software, and travel filming setups. Every review is based on real documentary production.
View All Gear →Destination guides from years of documentary work. Cost of living, visa logistics, filming locations, and the reality of living and working in each place. Not travel tips. Filmmaker's intel.
View All Locations →Occasional emails when I finish a film, start a new project, or have something worth saying. No spam. No motivational bullshit. Just updates from someone making documentaries the hard way.
I send emails when I have something real to share. Could be weekly. Could be monthly. Could be never. Unsubscribe anytime.