Q: Where did the idea for this series come from?

A: I had always, as a child, wanted to be an archeologist, but had no patience to dig. Living in Los Angeles for the past 20 years, I have made many good friends from a variety of nationalities. I filmed their mothers to collect visual recipes for my own growing library. To merge my two passions was a natural necessity.

Q: Your films are quite unique and offbeat. Was that your intended style right from the start, or did it evolve based on the subject matter?

A: I edit my shows, so they must interest and excite and teach me first. My interests are to see and experience the exotic and the unknown. My only hope is that people can learn to admire cultures unknown to them. My need to document evolved into what I call "visual anthropology." Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I hope my shows will speak a million words to this culture-starved world.

Q: How did you master the style of shooting yourself?

A: No one helps you when you can’t pay them. I found the only way to create what I had in my head was to find a way, any way, to do it all myself. My equipment and techniques continue to change. What I do is the ultimate in guerilla-style filming. I never know what I am about to shoot until it happens. That is exciting for me.

Q: On your travels, were people open to the idea of sharing their meals and hospitality with you?

A: People are different and more open when I film, rather than with a film crew. I don’t look much like a typical gringo, so they open up after the initial shock of first seeing me.

Q: Was it difficult traveling through the villages and jungles of the Amazon?

A: It was only difficult knowing that, if I did something wrong and got hurt or sick, it was six days to any medical help. That was the most unnerving.

Q: What new information about the area did you discover in the making of your series?

A: There is so much more to uncover that I plan to revisit the Amazon many more times.

Q: How would you sum up the experience of making this series?

A: A life-changing experience. I found out by accident that one of my French ancestors taught Catholicism to the very tribe I stayed the longest with. That was very spooky.

Q: Is there anything you didn’t want to eat?

A: I normally don’t eat anything that smells decayed because if I get sick, I have no one to back me up, or help, for that matter.

Q: What was your most memorable experience?

A: Having my canoe sink in the dead of night in the Amazon, far from any tribe or help.

Q: What was your most memorable meal?

A: Eating an Indian feast with the Yagua tribe at night by campfire, with red-painted faces watching me eat.

Q: What was your most unusual meal?

A: Large barbecued grub worms from the Amazon, and sloth.

Q: Did you ever get sick from the food?

A: I have gotten more food poisoning from bad restaurants than the bush.

Q: Were you ever concerned about your safety?

A: Always.

Q: Why do you look forward to visiting and documenting different cultures and countries?

A: Our world and its cultures are changing. Tradition slowly disappears. My desire is to document them before they are gone.

Q: What is your next Nick Paine project?