5. A Grand Tour and Further Plans

It's high time for a project update. No, you haven't missed any yet; I simply didn't get around to it because I was finishing my Master's in Applied Ethics. A thesis inevitably eats up a lot of your time, soul, and energy, so I couldn't find the space to share the project's progress here. But progress has definitely been made! In text, in images, and in big travel plans.

First of all, of course, the thesis itself. The fun part of a philosophy Master's is that you can dive into very niche topics—and I certainly did. The title is "Hunting for Justification: Arguments for a Real and Ethically Acceptable Prehistoric Hunting Scene." You guessed it: I wrote my thesis on a subject related to the next prehistoric film I want to make. My idea was as follows. The film will focus on hunter-gatherers; people still hunt today, and sometimes even with Stone Age-style tools—so why not film a real hunting scene? Of course, this immediately raises all sorts of ethical questions: about eating meat and killing animals, about animal cruelty in the film industry, and about hunting in general. If you're curious about my reasoning, you can read the thesis elsewhere on this website.

There's also been progress on the visual side of things. At the start of this month, The Bison's Legs became available on YouTube for free! (and in 4K!) Up until now, the film was "hidden," because I was trying to get it into film festivals. Most festivals want "premiere rights," which means a film can't be published online before the festival. By now I've been rejected by all of them, so it no longer matters. Not that I mind—because I organized my very own film festival: the Jong Utrecht FilmFestival (JUFF)! The idea behind JUFF, in short, is to give young filmmakers from the region a platform, while also giving Utrecht locals a great night out. The Paws of the Bison was screened at the try-out night, so my baby still managed to shine in the spotlight. The main JUFF dates are August 29–31. If you're curious, check out the project website: www.jongutrechtfilmfestival.nl

Another development in the visual field: I made a YouTube essay about prehistoric films. The goal is both to learn from those films myself and to draw viewers to my channel. The plan is to review and discuss all the prehistoric films ever made (about 25) in chronological order. That means I've placed the films on a timeline—not based on when they were produced, but on when the story takes place. One is set a million years ago, another 100,000 years ago, and yet another 35,000. And then there's a B-movie like 10,000 B.C. (which technically takes place 12,000 years ago). I thought it would be interesting to see whether these films match, in any way, the timeline archaeologists have constructed. In other words: how closely do the films line up with what contemporary science tells us about prehistory? The video is now on YouTube and can be watched below.

Finally, in September I'm heading out on a grand tour through Europe for this project. The aim is to make a round of the major prehistoric sites and connect with archaeologists there. I'll show them The Bison's Legs and ask if they'd like to collaborate on the next film. The trip will take me to Leipzig (Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte), Brno (Dolní Věstonice), Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum), Bratislava (Slovak National Museum), Ljubljana (Narodni muzej), Bolzano (Ötzi Museum), southern France (lots to see there), and Bilbao (Altamira). And of course every cave and little provincial museum we can find along the way. "We," indeed—because many of my friends will be flying (or training) in to join the adventure. On the road, I hope to make some money by screening films, since I'm bringing a little outdoor cinema with me. Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, I now have a beautiful foldable screen; I already had the beamer, and recently I bought an old Ford van that will carry me everywhere. For now, I'm working as much as possible, and I'll leave on September 6. It's going to be quite the trip.

In short, the project is anything but lying still, and there will be more updates to come. During the journey, I also plan to do a lot of reading, writing, and video-making. You'll hear from me! Thank you so much for supporting this project so far, and I hope you're as hyped about it as I am.

Best,
Maarten