Planning

Though The Bison's Legs is finished, this is only the start! Currently I am working on my next Stone Age film. This film will be of middle duration (so 45-70 minutes). The theme will be the circle of life and the connection between prehistoric humans and their environment. The working title is The Eternal Seasons. As with my first film, the goal is to make this one scientifically accurate. Below is the planning for the coming period. 

Early 2026

I have returned from my Grand Tour Préhistorique to my home town of Utrecht. Here, I will work on the first version of the script for The Eternal Seasons. There will also be a document containing a scientific substantiation of the script. In early March, I will share these documents among my network of experts. The goal is to create a final version of the script that is co-created with or 'approved' by the scientific community. This will make for a strong pitch to potential producers. 

Rest of 2026

After the first version of the script is finished, I will look for a producer. Commonly in the film industry, the filmmaker has to find a producer that believes in the project and that is willing to invest time and effort in helping it to grow. To this end, if I manage to find an online job, I will start travelling again. 

After my visit there, I strongly believe my project has the best chance to come into fruition in France. Firstly, the cultural industry there is much bigger than in my home country. Generally the film industry there is quite open to experimental and poetic films such as the one I hope to make. Furthermore, the French have a veritable obsession with prehistory, compared to the Netherlands in any case. Also, inspired by the recent work of Marc Azema, I hope to film a scene in a real cave, of which there are plenty to be found in the Dordogne (Northern Spain might be another option). I have made initial contact with some folks in the film industry there, and together with very positive reactions from archaeologists I feel there is a much bigger chance to get the project going in France.

2027

This year, the production planning comes into view. The most important part of this phase is securing the budget. There are three ways of obtaining a budget that I have currently in mind.

First and foremost, I will apply for funds from Creative Europe, the culture subsidy body of the EU. The goal of Creative Europe is to support the production of transnational and culturally diverse content. Since my film will for sure be an international endevour, with scientists, production companies and actors from many different places, it fits this general goal perfectly. Moreover, Creative Europe supports content that shows common elements of European heritage. As the continent is considered to have had a shared culture in the period in which my film will take place (either the Gravettian or Magdalenian) my project also fits with this condition. 

Another possibility is to enlist film production companies to share the load. If they see commercial viability in my film plans, they could be interested in investing. There are also many smaller, national cultural subsidy organizations. 

Third, I will place the project on Kickstarter. Through this website, I can set up a crowdfunding that is available to the whole internet. This could bring in thousands and even tens of thousands of euros. Since I already have The Bison's Legs as a proof of concept, I would make a good chance to bring in donators. 

If this goes well, preproduction will start later this year. Casting, location scouting, costume and artefact design, etc. I hope to film either in Iceland, the Scottish Highlands or in Northern Scandinavia. Furthermore, it is my goal to make The Eternal Seasons loyal to the archaeological finds. This means that if the film takes place (say) south of the Pyrenees in the early Magdalenian, then the actors will be carrying blades and points exactly such as those that are found in the sites of this time and region. Concerning clothing and other soft-material items, naturally other sources will have to be used (see my paper on this topic). In any case, I hope to find enough experimental archaeologists that are able to help out with creating these artefacts.

2028

My friends in the film industry estimated that having the first day of shooting in early 2028 is a realistic prospect. So if all goes well, this year the first phase of actual production starts. But a lot has to happen until that time. This phase has no further details yet, but that isn't a problem. As noted, project like this goes step by step.