In this post we’ll talk about 12 digital nomad movies and documentaries to watch!
Digital nomads are people who earn a living by using telecommunications technologies and live without a fixed residence, which can be called location independence. There are a number of reasons why people choose this lifestyle, whether it is for financial independence or the adventure that comes with not laying down roots, the digital nomad experience is one that attracts a growing number of people to it.
As the number of digital nomads grows partially due to improvement in telecommunication coverage and efficiency, entertainment that gives adventure lovers, people considering this way of life insight into the lifestyle and serves as material for filling leisure time that nomads can relate to has equally increased. Digital nomad movies and documentaries as a specific genre have been difficult to come across during my research but I added films of different approaches to satisfying wanderlust like those about travel and minimalism.
Here are some digital nomad movies to watch that throw light on the digital nomad lifestyle.
Digital Nomad Movies and Documentaries to Watch
1. One Way Ticket: The Digital Nomad Documentary
This is most likely the most popular digital nomad film out there. Directed by Youjin Do and starring prominent nomad – Tim Ferriss (author of the 4-Hour Workweek) as well as Matt Mullenweg and David Heinemeier Hansson, One Way Ticket has been remarked as an insightful and honest exposition into a modern-day nomadic experience. It hones in on the challenges that surround adopting the so-called ‘dream life’. Youjin with her crew and cast invested about 3 years into this and it seems like each second of production was invested wisely.
2. The Reality of #Vanlife
Van living is an increasingly popular alternative to the conventional lifestyle where you get a chance to make fresh acquaintances, enjoy new experiences and explore different corners of the globe, Forrest Stevens who tries to adopt the van dwelling lifestyle but becomes disillusioned in the process. His experience causes him to shed light on others who are undergoing similar journeys which resulted in the production of The Reality of #Vanlife.
Instagram throws photos at you that make it seem like living in a Van is the new American dream with people cruising around the earth is beautiful, comfy and cozy reconverted vans but this movie shows you more, it shows you what might be the next best thing to actually living in a van.
It features a colorful cast of free-spirits that show an engaging and well-rounded picture of this bourgeoning movement while proving that though risks and set-backs are present, there are benefits which with the right system can cause them to be the majority of your experience. It is a 40-minute documentary that can be found on, YouTube or Top Documentary Films free of charge.
3. A Map for Saturday
This is definitely one of the most popular travel movies so far and it follows an 11-month trip of Silva Braga from the moment he quits his job to his returns home. It is one of the best movies covering the life of a backpacker with its good and bad times. It also explains why people would go into backpacking: the craving for new sights, sounds, smells and tastes and a chance to engage with fresh faces from different cultures.
Every day feels like Saturday to a backpacker with no 9 to 5s and each day posing an opportunity for adventure. Check it out here for a chance to join the thrilling lives of adventurers of various ages coursing through Nepal, Australia and Vietnam.
4. The Beach
This is directed by Danny Boyle with the initial release in the US in 2000 and features Oscar award-winning and beloved actor Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead character – Richard, so you can tell its Hollywood unlike the ones listed above. It also features amazing actresses Virginie Ledoyen and Tilda Swinton.
It follows the trials of Richard who travels to Thailand and discovers that he holds a peculiar map which rumors claim leads to a paradise island and with the help of a couple of friends, he decides to find it. He begins his adventure in a dreary traveler’s hotel in Bangkok at Khao San Road where he meets Francoise and becomes infatuated with her.
This drama adventure film is sure to infuse feelings of wanderlust and warm up your cold Sunday nights. You can grab a DVD copy on Amazon for your viewing pleasure.
5. Into the Wild
It is a wonderful true story of a great student and sportsman that forfeits everything he has earned for a hitch-hike to Alaska. Directed by Sean Penn, Into the Wild recounts the tale of a 20-year old college graduate that collects his law school fund and sets out on an amazing adventure. With his car, he sails West until there is no more land and goes North to meet the wilderness of Alaska.
Christopher (Emile Hirsch) carries an idealistic notion that goes against his proud wishes and. This dash for the winds throws his parents into deathly confusion by leaving questions about the reason for his empty room and missing car. Why would a person pass off law school for a life in the unknown? Christopher develops the self-image of a person freed from homes as he falls into the open arms of mother nature.
6. Up in the Air
This is not just an adventure or travel movie but an actual digital nomad movie. Ryan Bingham as portrayed by George Clooney is a corporate downsizing expert. Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner, it is centered on the downsizer and his travels. Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga and Danny McBride star in this beautiful movie set in various American cities.
Ryan has no fixed residence and dreams of becoming the 7th person to obtain ten million frequent flier miles on American Airlines. On one of his usual trips, he makes an unusual connection with a fellow flight frequenter- Alex and a casual relationship proceeds.
Although he enjoys him on the go lifestyle, he senses an emptiness which he believes results from his not experiencing a typical life and that his life is devoid of close relationships of any kind. Up in the Air is available on Amazon.
7. EuroTrip
EuroTrip is a 2004 comedy movie written by Alec Berg and Directed by Jeff Schaffer. Scotty, a not so popular high school student falls in love with his pen-friend after being heartbroken by his cheating girlfriend. All the while, Scotty had felt that his German pen-friend was male when it was in fact revealed to him that she was female and he had been mispronouncing her feminine male – Mieke as Mike.
Scotty along with his friend Cooper and siblings Jenny and Jamie go on a wacky, convoluted adventure through Europe. They find themselves in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Berlin, and Rome. Join them by getting the DVD on Amazon on their embarrassing, funny and awkward instances in these European cities.
8. Eat, Pray, Love
Julia Robert dazzles in this autobiographical romantic drama released in 2010 as Elizabeth Gilbert. The movie has its basis in Gilbert’s memoir with the same title as Ryan Murphy as the co-writer and director.
Gilbert, a supposedly perfect modern woman who has the trifecta – a husband, a house and a successful career does not feel as she has always thought she would feel with such a life and its instead finds that she is lost, confused and looking for that missing, most important piece. This pushes her to stray outside of her comfort zone in an attempt to achieve wholeness in her life.
Freshly divorced and on a mission of self-discovery, she eats in Italy, prays in India and much to her surprise attains the quiet and harmony of true love in Indonesia with a Brazilian businessman.
9. Out of Africa
This one takes us back to 1985, through this epic romantic drama film, Sydney Pollack takes us on a soft glide down the grasslands of Africa. With amazing actors Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, we get a loosely based film on Isak Dinesen’s autobiographical book of the same name. It can be found on Amazon.
Karen Blixen recounts her stay in Africa as a wealthy, unmarried woman who is scorned by a Swedish nobleman who she had taken as a lover and then she accepts a marriage proposal from his brother – Baron Bror Blixen who move to Nairobi in British East Africa. With the help of her wealth, he sets up a cattle ranch so that they may reunite in their marriage of convenience. With twists and turns, a refusal of commitment and early death, Karen experiences life in a different continent.
10. The Bucket List
This movie follows the life of a duo of terminally ill men who make a decision to abandon the hospital and go on a great road trip on which they tick away boxes on things they had always want to experience in their lives. The Bucket List serves as a reminder for us to appreciate good health and that life is for the living.
The Bucket List posits to us that time is fast running out and we can’t always postpone a chance at happiness today in favor of one in the unpredictable future. We have to stop and smell the roses sometimes even if we can’t constantly exist in the present. It tells us to follow one key aspect of a digital nomad life of making the best of their lives, increasing the breadth of your experience and living in the moment, focus on things that really matter.
Released in the US in 2007, it stars Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson with the director, Rob Reiner and can be watched on Amazon.
11. Office Space
Released in 1999, this movie still proves to be highly relatable over 20 years later. This is an actual digital nomad movie that captures the typical work-life in the 1990s where most employees find their work draining and unfulfilling. They lose themselves to a decrepit abyss of tasks and routines that in the big picture appear to be meaningless and accompanied by the added worthlessness an unappreciative boss brings.
This movie, well-received by critics and audiences around the world, applies comedy by satirizing the daily life of Peter Gibbons at work. Gibbons is an unmotivated and frustrated programmer who suffers from poor management. After being pushed to his limits, Peter takes drastic actions which at the end of his boring work life and the start at a new type of job which he had always wanted
12. Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things
This Netflix movie was released in 2016 shows a rejection of the American capitalist ideals by people who live by the tenet that less is more. Though the main focus of the documentary appears to be on a minimalist lifestyle, breaking down the philosophy and describing how it feels to adopt this way of life, it actually looks at the crisis of consumerism and rush for having things.
Honing down on the global culture of endless purchasing, especially of items we really do not need, Minimalism: A documentary about the important things show us the waste it generates and its untoward effects of we as humans and the Earth as our home. While showing us that little is key, this film takes a viewpoint of the big picture.
The documentary interviews different people from all walks of life, from architects to bloggers and even a ‘homeless’ traveler. It takes a look at how cutting down on everything has helped people and their families. Check it out on Amazon if you want some interesting insights.
Conclusion
It is apparent that the above list shows different types of digital nomad movies and documentaries that praise the philosophy of an untethered life and one of learning about this world we have found ourselves in. I hope that someone out there will see this and some of the movies will inspire them to conquer the real and figurative unknown.
Hope you enjoyed this post on digital nomad movies. If you have thoughts on other digital nomad movies to watch, let us know in the comments below!
