Category Archives: Uncategorized

Intern for LAND OF SONGS!

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We’re looking for some stellar interns in New York City and San Francisco to join the LAND OF SONGS team. Duties and responsibilities can vary depending on the intern’s areas of interest, and may span post-production, administrative, and marketing tasks, including:

  • Organizing footage and creating subtitles in Adobe Premiere Pro
  • Growing and handling our web presence and social media
  • Conducting research
  • Preparing press items & maintaining contacts
  • General office management

This will be a rewarding experience for someone interested in DIY/grassroots indie filmmaking as well as Lithuanian culture, anthropology, gender issues, folk music, and oral history. The internship is unpaid to start, with the possibility of growth. The production will cover transportation costs and meals, and will offer film credits. Hours and scheduling can be discussed on an individual basis.

Qualifications:

  • Fluency in Mac systems a must.
  • Familiarity with Adobe Premiere Pro preferred, but familiarity with Final Cut Pro or other NLEs OK – we can train an individual on Premiere Pro if it’s the right fit.
  • WordPress and social media fluency preferred.
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Word processing and spreadsheets preferred.
  • Bonus points if you speak Lithuanian (and English!)

Please email your inquiry and resume to landofsongsfilm@gmail.com

Her Girl Friday’s “Choose Your Own Adventure”

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I’m a co-organizer of Her Girl Friday, a Brooklyn group that produces events for female journalists & nonfiction storytellers. On March 7, we had our first San Francisco event at 111 Minna Street Gallery. 155 people came to hang out and listen to our speakers Ann Friedman, Martina Castro, Mimi Chakarova, and Katy Newton discuss their innovative new projects. I was honored to present LAND OF SONGS as a work-in-progress to the encouraging crowd!

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A podcast of the event will be posted soon on Her Girl Friday’s Soundcloud here.

Pizza parties and post-production!

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We successfully wrapped our second (and final) shoot last month! The highlight was Velines, a holiday observed in Lithuania November 1 – 2, during which the dead are remembered and celebrated. Velines has ancient roots in the Baltic pagan faith, but has been associated with the Christian All Soul’s Day since the Christianization of Lithuania in 1387. During Velines, many Lithuanians visit the cemeteries where their kin are buried, cleaning their graves and decorating them with flowers and candles. Even unmarked or forgotten graves are honored, as folk beliefs about lonely souls wandering the cemeteries at night persist in many of the villages. Throughout the country, the graveyards glow deep into the night. We spent the first day of Velines in Puvočiai, with the močiutės and their families.

But the real kicker was our last day on the shoot! We packed the močiutės into a van and drove them (singing all the way) to a pro recording studio in Kaunas. We were met by renowned composer Vidmantas Bartulis, his brother cellist Saulius Bartulis, and the Kaunas string quartet! They performed a four part piece based on the močiutės’ songs, composed by Vidmantas Bartulis exclusively for the Land of Songs film score! We were all in awe of the Bartulis brothers’ beautiful work and generosity. Next, we recorded a full set of the močiutės’ songs for our soundtrack. And it doesn’t end there – after the session, we took the močiutės out for a pizza party!!! They could not contain themselves, bursting into song mid-pie!

Back in the USA, we are starting the post-production phase. First we need to transcribe and translate all of our footage. The translation process is new to us, and though we’re off to a solid start, we appreciate tips from people with experience in these areas. If this sounds like you, please reach out to landofsongsfilm@gmail.com.

As always, check our  Flickr for more photos and Facebook for frequent updates.

Vėtra Trinkūnaitė

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Check out this beautiful Lithuanian folk song performed by Vėtra Trinkūnaitė. We’re super excited to feature Vėtra and her family in our film! Her parents, Jonas Trinkunas and Inija Trinkuniene are the leaders of Romuva, a religious organization that revives the ancient pagan Baltic faith. They are also the key members of ritual folk group Kūlgrinda, performing ancient dainos at ceremonies and gatherings. Many of the songs they sing originate in the Dainava region, where our močiutės live.

We joined the Trinkunai and their friends and family for Jolines, an ancient calendar day celebrating the earth goddess Žemyna. We shot their ritual songs and dances, and Vėtra gave us a solo performance of some beautiful ancient folk songs, accompanied by a zither-like instrument called the kanklės.

For more of Vėtra’s music, visit her on Soundcloud, and of course, check her out in Land of Songs – coming soon!