Luni Draft Project Proposal

VERSION 3 October 3, 2023

What do you want to make?

Building Goddess (working title) is a ~15-minute speculative documentary inspired by the traditional Lithuanian religion and the Goddess Religion theories founded by Lithuanian myth-archeologist Marija Gimbutas. A combination of poetic and essayistic, through personal and formal interviews, it will question and speculate on topics such as myth genesis and its effects on the present day, reasons, and consequences of switching to a monotheistic patriarchal society.

How do you plan to make it?

Building Goddess will consist of mixed visual media, and different visual registers - personal archive material merged with found footage and with new, original footage. I have several related research topics that I will be focusing on during the production of this film - I will collect material and work with it as I go - looking for bridges and connections. I am planning to film in the untouched nature of Lithuania, as well as to film rituals and traditions during the Pagan-rooted Lithuanian holidays. Audibly - I would like to conduct interviews with some of my female family members and with Romuva (Neo-Pagan religious movement in Lithuania). I also find it important to have Marija Gimbutas and her work visible in my project - I will try to achieve it by combining found footage of work of/about her (films, interviews) and her work while combining it with my personal, original footage. Sound and music is always an important element of my work. For this project, I would like to use Lithuanian folk music mixed with electronic music. By connecting these different elements I am aiming to achieve an overall visual style that I call prehistoric futuristic.

Question to myself - Why Romuva is relevant to this project?

Why do you want to make it and relation to the previous practice?

I usually begin working on projects by having a small, narrow idea that expands into something else. I’m often motivated by the interest to re/connect to my Lithuanian cultural identity. This time my motivation to re/create a Lithuanian contemporary Goddess stemmed from the desire to dive deeper into the old Pagan tradition in Lithuania to further reconnect with my Lithuanian roots.. As past and present are strongly entangled, I was interested in evaluating its effects. My practice is mostly research/process based - this time going back further in time and researching traditional Lithuanian religion has brought me to discover that Goddess Religion might actually have been the most ancient religion, yet, not as widely spoken or known today. After discovering Marija Gimbuta’s theories and ideas it seems important for me to shine a light and visualize it. Marija Gimbutas got back in time with her archeological discoveries to re-evaluate the way archeology is perceived today and encourages us to question established narratives. I am hoping to achieve the same - to inspire viewers to regain the balance in the world by exploring the realms of imagination and truth. What is your timetable?

October 3 - October 30 continuing theoretical research, collecting found footage, and prototyping. Preparation of the filming. October 30 - November 5 Lithuania. Shooting during the National Day of the Dead.Revisiting and filming in the same valley (Stirniai mound). November 6 - November 17 Re-evaluating the collected footage and research material. Finalizing project proposal. Deciding the next steps. November 17 - … tbc.