MATRIARCH
In search of healing for her own lineage, a filmmaker journeys through her grandmothers’ stories and ancestral lands,
uncovering echoes of matriarchal wisdom that reach far beyond her family—to the heart of our shared humanity.
In search of healing for her own lineage, a filmmaker journeys through her grandmothers’ stories and ancestral lands,
uncovering echoes of matriarchal wisdom that reach far beyond her family—to the heart of our shared humanity.
PROOF OF CONCEPT
CORE QUESTIONS1. If motherhood is to tie another’s destiny to our own, how might an ethic of motherhood help heal humanity’s crises?
2. What ancient stories of matriarchy,
the feminine, and motherhood have we forgotten,
and how can they provide a roadmap back to
harmony? 3. What can be healed by honoring our
matriarchs and their stories—even their
unmet dreams, unquenched desires, and
misplaced anger? 4. How do our bodies and the earth
mirror what needs healing? Matriarch is an eco-feminist documentary that seeks solutions to global crises through intuitive, ancestral storytelling. What began as interviews with filmmaker Reva Santo’s grandmothers to understand wounds within her own lineage quickly revealed a deeper narrative—one that connects the ways motherhood and matriarchal voices have been ignored with humanity’s collective disregard for the earth. If the earth is the source of all creation and survival, our refusal to respond to her pain reflects a profound disconnection from our own supreme mother.
Reconnection requires confronting discomfort, pain, and human flaws. In Matriarch, Santo does precisely that, weaving her grandmothers’ histories and dreams with matriarchal wisdom from cultures across the globe. She begins with her own lineages, exploring legacy and healing through the spiritual mythologies of the divine feminine that shaped her upbringing: Ifá and Candomblé (of Afro-Indigenous origin) and Jewish mysticism. She visits her matriarchal homelands, confronting the complexities embedded in those connections, before traveling across oceans to Aotearoa/New Zealand. There, the film expands beyond her family, integrating personal and collective stories to reveal how questions of care, ancestry, and responsibility ripple through all of humanity. Personal histories emerge as mirrors of broader societal struggles.
Matriarch centers Indigenous and earth-rooted matriarchal stories as a means of remembering the wisdom embedded in each of us, rebalancing the pendulum away from capitalism, patriarchy, cultures of domination, and the illusion of infinite growth. Cycles of life, decay, and renewal are central, with water serving as a primary motif of interconnection. By reconnecting with elders, lands, and lineages, audiences are invited to reimagine the systems shaping our world.
Reconnection requires confronting discomfort, pain, and human flaws. In Matriarch, Santo does precisely that, weaving her grandmothers’ histories and dreams with matriarchal wisdom from cultures across the globe. She begins with her own lineages, exploring legacy and healing through the spiritual mythologies of the divine feminine that shaped her upbringing: Ifá and Candomblé (of Afro-Indigenous origin) and Jewish mysticism. She visits her matriarchal homelands, confronting the complexities embedded in those connections, before traveling across oceans to Aotearoa/New Zealand. There, the film expands beyond her family, integrating personal and collective stories to reveal how questions of care, ancestry, and responsibility ripple through all of humanity. Personal histories emerge as mirrors of broader societal struggles.
Matriarch centers Indigenous and earth-rooted matriarchal stories as a means of remembering the wisdom embedded in each of us, rebalancing the pendulum away from capitalism, patriarchy, cultures of domination, and the illusion of infinite growth. Cycles of life, decay, and renewal are central, with water serving as a primary motif of interconnection. By reconnecting with elders, lands, and lineages, audiences are invited to reimagine the systems shaping our world.
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VENMO to CREO Changemakers (Indicate Matriarch in Subject).
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arrange details. DIRECTOR / PRODUCER
Reva Santo is a multi-media artist, filmmaker, and storyteller. Her magic lies in her ability to pinpoint the emotional pulse of her inquiries around diaspora, earth wisdom, and what it means to be human. She creates transformative, alchemic works that pull from ancient wisdom and imagine new possibilities for the world. Her creative practice is predicated on an understanding that she is a continuation of her ancestors' greatest struggles, desires, and dreams.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Tanisha Moreno is a Salvadoran/Honduran-American Director of Photography based in Los Angeles. As a storyteller, Tanisha’s objective is to create captivating imagery that explores purpose, connection and pulls from personal experiences. Through an intricate process, she is committed to delivering stimulating visuals that illustrate an authentic & unique portrayal of the world being created.
STILLS GALLERY