Camerado, which is named for poem Song of the Open Road in Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, was originally established in New York City in 2000 to support the production and launch of the award winning social issue documentary, Bookwars.
[3][4] The ultra-low budget effort was financed primarily with a World Trade Center disaster grant, following the loss of the original Camerado offices in New York to toxic dust and debris.
[5] The film featured Native American actors and non-actors, and addressed a wide variety of social issue themes, including illegal immigration and human cloning.
In 2004, on the eve of the second US incursion into Iraq, Camerado suspended operations in the United States and relocated to Southeast Asia to undertake prosocial media efforts there.
Unlike the traditionally hierarchical structure of many studios and production groups, Camerado is decentralized and "wiki-like", with talent being incorporated into projects in a participatory basis.