Adventure Filmmaker
Holly Morris
39, Seattle, WA, & Brooklyn, NY

Job Description: Writer/director/host/executive producer of Adventure Divas, a documentary-style travel show on PBS that profiles innovative women around the world. Morris is also the host of Outdoor Investigations, a series that takes an up-close look at North American environmental issues and airs on the Outdoor Life Network.
Why This Work Rules: Good adventure—what's not to love about traveling the globe making documentaries on "divas"? "These women don't wait for their ships to come in; they row out to meet them," says Morris. Her recent experiences include filming the beauty parlors of Iran and documenting Cuba's female rappers. The best part? No two days are the same.
Turning Point: After three years in Seattle as the editorial director at Seal Press, which is now an imprint of Avalon Publishing Group, Morris was inspired by a book series called Adventura, which covered women,

"You don't have to be an 18-year-old with a backpack to have epiphanies that lead to life changes," says Holly Morris.

travel, and international politics. Though she had no film experience, at 32 she quit her job, scrambled for funding, and spent ten days in Cuba shooting her Adventure Divas pilot. PBS picked it up and commissioned the series in 2000. "You don't have to be an 18-year-old with a backpack in order to have epiphanies that lead to life changes," says Morris.
The Balanced Life: In Morris's case, balance means splitting her time between Seattle, Brooklyn, and the rest of the world. Wherever she is, life off the job is similar to life on the job—minus the cameras. "I travel, fish, read, and try to meet interesting people," she says.
Reality Check: "There are moments when you're puking your guts out in the middle of nowhere when you think, Why do I do this?" Morris says.
The Bottom Line: As the boss, Morris pays herself last, bringing in anywhere from $15,000 to more than $100,000 per year (salary ranges in the documentary-film biz are notoriously variable). For more information about what's going on in the filmmaking world, or to find a group in your neck of the woods, consult the Association of Film Commissioners International (www.afci.org) or go to a local film festival. For more from Morris, check out www.adventuredivas.com and read her Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for a New Kind of Heroine, coming out in October from Villard ($24).