Intimate Revolutions
Sebastopol, California | Film Feature
Biography, Documentary
Rooted in her desire for erotic liberation, for over 13 years, Director Julia Maryanska documents the most intimate areas of her life, challenging cultural norms, and shedding light on the intricate landscapes and multicultural expectations of motherhood, womanhood and sexuality.
Intimate Revolutions
Sebastopol, California | Film Feature
Biography, Documentary
1 Campaigns | California, United States
80 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$8,541
Goal: $15,050 for development
Rooted in her desire for erotic liberation, for over 13 years, Director Julia Maryanska documents the most intimate areas of her life, challenging cultural norms, and shedding light on the intricate landscapes and multicultural expectations of motherhood, womanhood and sexuality.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
SYNOPSIS
"Intimate Revolutions" is a captivating 13-year odyssey, a personal coming-of-age memoir that traces the diverse chapters of one woman's quest for an emancipated womanhood.
Raised inside of a traditional Polish family, Julia rebels against societal norms and embarks on a journey of self-discovery in her youth, especially exploring her sexuality. Her path leads her to the vibrant and unconventional One Taste community in San Francisco, where she immerses herself in the world of sex-positivity and polyamory. She also delves into the realm of Burning Man, where she discovers anarchist and visionary communal values. She begins experimenting with polyamory, kink, and embracing her own queerness. However, when her fiancé forms a deep connection with another woman, she is heartbroken and makes a life-changing decision to leave the US and her travels take her around the world, and ultimately to Tamera, the Portuguese free-love village, where she is invited to participate in a Global Love School.
Her inquiry and understanding of liberation evolves and matures as she transitions into motherhood, navigating the colliding landscapes of career aspirations juxtaposed against the profound responsibilities of caring for a young child, all while forming and living inside of an open-marriage. To find answers, she turns her lens towards herself, and follows her closest friends, as well as her family of origin, searching for truth. All of this unfolds against the backdrop of a world grappling with multi-level societal challenges and collapses. While stitching together a tapestry of choices that stretches across time and generations, ultimately Julia dares to question whether some of the alternative structures she once yearned for might harbor similar complexities to the ones she was trying to move beyond.
(Still from the film)
STYLE
With camera in hand, I have documented many chapters of my life through film, photographs and audio recordings. The close-up, handheld footage allows for a very intimate feel, and I believe it lets the audience in very close to each of the characters, oscillating between an intimate and provocative cinematic look and ‘home video’ feel at times.
I am filming my own life, so we hear my voice behind the camera. We see my most intimate relationships – with lovers, partners, parents and child – unfolding in real time. Our conversations are unfiltered, at times confronting, and many times vulnerable. The quality of intimacy is a testament to the trust that I have secured with my subjects which lends itself to the primary ‘dispositif’ of the film.
The narration will be in the form of present-tense ‘confessionals’ as I look at each scenes in her life and tells us, the audience, what I am experiencing, feeling and thinking in that moment. The audience gets to hear real time what I may be wanting to say to my subject. At other times, we are hearing excerpts or adaptations of my journal entries throughout the years.
WHY?
- To articulate, paint and explore the nuanced landscape of female power.
- To take the lid off of the taboos and stigmas's placed on women's sexuality.
- To artfully map the transition from maidenhood to motherhood, both literally and archetypally.
And I'm willing to do that by telling the story I have most nuanced access to – my own.
13 years ago, when my fiancé proposed to me, at the time I was living in one of San Francisco’s notorious sex communes and exploring polyamory. Perplexed by the promise of marriage while in such a free and unruly context, I decided to pick up the camera and begin asking questions of the unconventional people around me, asking, ‘How do you do love?’ At the time, I did not know I was making a memoir, I was simply using the camera as a research tool in a search for liberation from old constructs.
I was born in Poland to a traditional family, and emigrated to the United States at a young age. Raised bi-culturally, I have always felt like I am bridging two worlds. Like so many, I have come from a lineage of women who lived through war, sacrificed their own dreams, possibilities of careers, and gave up the chance to know themselves erotically in order to secure the safety that came with marriage, to raise children, and to fit safely into the acceptable status quo of society’s relational boxes. Since a young age, I knew I could not live inside of these boxes, yet did not see other models…. Until my 20s.
It wasn’t until about two years ago that with the encouragement of my film team, I recognized I have a story to tell, along with the materials to do so. As I review volumes of old journals, certain writings become the narration I use and adapt in the film. The footage I have collected over a decade consistently has a very personal, handheld and closeup aesthetic.
The title “Intimate Revolutions,” for me evokes the way I have chosen to live my life; taking the most intimate areas of my life; romance, sexuality, family, child – and re-examining what I have been told. As a queer person, and now a mother, I feel motivated to leverage my own authentic story to shed light on the nuanced complexities of intimate life, exposing taboos and authentic longings; be they to have a thriving career as a female artist, having the security of family and challenge gender stereotypes.
(Beltane Celebration at Tamera in Portugal)
WAYS TO SUPPORT
- Make a Financial Contribution!
- Become a 'follower' on seed and spark! (with a certain amount of followers during my campaign, I unlock prizes like waived fees when applying to film festivals in the future!)
- Text this campaign page to a friend or two directly who you think would feel inspired to support!
- Post about this on Social Media!
- You can contribute SKY MILES to me! I'm aggregating miles on UNITED AIRLINES to be able to fly to Europe, (DM me for my mileage number)
- Offer a perk! This is a wonderful way to bring mutual visibility to our both of our works!
STAGE OF FILMMAKING
This film is currently in late-stage development and entering early production. I have accrued 13 years of archives; including photos, audio recordings and personal footage. The next three months are a critical moment to create 2 excellent promo-reels (funding trailers) of different lengths and refine the treatment that can secure further production funding, labs, residencies and further co-productions. In January, Julia will attend the 3rd module of the CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator at the Trieste Film Festival in Italy, where she will need to have ready materials to present to producers, funders and distributors.
These materials are essential, and become the ID card of the film, attracting the right support along the way.
With production funding, I will be able to invest more time to document my Polish family, life and origins to embellish and balance the story much more. Poland is a very conservative country with dogmatic Catholic values where abortion is illegal and LGBTQ life is under threat. The juxtaposition of this narrative is essential for the film, and this first step in funding will build the bridge for us to get there.
We are hiring Charline Branger of Catlike Productions, an expert trailer editor, to edit the trailers. We will use these trailers at upcoming pitching forums like Trieste and CPH:DOX, where we intend to secure co-production partners in Europe, especially in Poland and Germany.
This Spring and Summer 2024 involves fundraising for the next stage of Production and filming further scenes with existing characters and Julia's family.
I am well poised to take this project to the next stage, as since June 2023, within CIRCLE, she has received targeted mentorship with:
- script analysis + storytelling
- producing 101
- market positioning
- packaging + pitching
- coaching in how to develop trans-national co-production agreements
- international promotion of myself as a filmmaker
(2023 CIRCLE Accelerator cohort with mentors)
With deep gratitude for your support,
Julia Maryanska
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Producers fees
Costs $2,000
Producers help films run! With this fee, I can pay a producer to help me raise production funds to continue the project.
Travel Costs
Costs $3,300
Flying to Europe multiple times in one year, plus hotel, taxi, trains,
CIRCLE Documentary Accelerator Program Fees
Costs $3,800
While the year long program is subsidized by the EU, there are costs with mentorship, lodging, festival entry fees, and food.
Editing Fees for my promo reels!
Costs $5,350
I have hired an expert trailer editor (and CIRCLE mentor) to make me 2 different promo reels that will help me secure production funding!
Festival Badges
Costs $600
Badges allow me to attend future festivals like Berlinale and CPH:DOX where I can pitch my film and secure European co-productions!
Share this update!
About This Team
Filmmaker
Julia Maryanska is a Polish-American filmmaker and producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a Bachelors Degree from Skidmore College in International Affairs and French. She has worked on award winning films such as “My Reincarnation”, and “Regarding Susan Sontag,” and was assistant to Academy Award winning director, Judith Ehlrich. Julia is the associate director and producer of the feature doc, “The Village of Lovers” which is currently touring in Film Festivals internationally. She has directed and edited short films and music videos that have won awards at festivals, been featured Uplift.TV, Gaia TV and more. She is the co-founder of the media collaborative, Re/Culture Media, which produces stories and immersive theatrical events in service at the intersection of mythology, eros regenerative culture. She is also multi-lingual, a photographer, a violinist, a master NLP practitioner and a mother to a young girl.
Executive Producer
Marc J. Francis is a director, producer and cinematographer based in the UK whose documentary films have won world wide critical acclaim and have been distributed across cinemas, television and streaming platforms. His most recent film 'Walk With Me’ about Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as narrator, launched at the SXSW Film Festival and was a global box office hit before being released on Netflix and Amazon. (Marc became involved in 2019)
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
SYNOPSIS
"Intimate Revolutions" is a captivating 13-year odyssey, a personal coming-of-age memoir that traces the diverse chapters of one woman's quest for an emancipated womanhood.
Raised inside of a traditional Polish family, Julia rebels against societal norms and embarks on a journey of self-discovery in her youth, especially exploring her sexuality. Her path leads her to the vibrant and unconventional One Taste community in San Francisco, where she immerses herself in the world of sex-positivity and polyamory. She also delves into the realm of Burning Man, where she discovers anarchist and visionary communal values. She begins experimenting with polyamory, kink, and embracing her own queerness. However, when her fiancé forms a deep connection with another woman, she is heartbroken and makes a life-changing decision to leave the US and her travels take her around the world, and ultimately to Tamera, the Portuguese free-love village, where she is invited to participate in a Global Love School.
Her inquiry and understanding of liberation evolves and matures as she transitions into motherhood, navigating the colliding landscapes of career aspirations juxtaposed against the profound responsibilities of caring for a young child, all while forming and living inside of an open-marriage. To find answers, she turns her lens towards herself, and follows her closest friends, as well as her family of origin, searching for truth. All of this unfolds against the backdrop of a world grappling with multi-level societal challenges and collapses. While stitching together a tapestry of choices that stretches across time and generations, ultimately Julia dares to question whether some of the alternative structures she once yearned for might harbor similar complexities to the ones she was trying to move beyond.
(Still from the film)
STYLE
With camera in hand, I have documented many chapters of my life through film, photographs and audio recordings. The close-up, handheld footage allows for a very intimate feel, and I believe it lets the audience in very close to each of the characters, oscillating between an intimate and provocative cinematic look and ‘home video’ feel at times.
I am filming my own life, so we hear my voice behind the camera. We see my most intimate relationships – with lovers, partners, parents and child – unfolding in real time. Our conversations are unfiltered, at times confronting, and many times vulnerable. The quality of intimacy is a testament to the trust that I have secured with my subjects which lends itself to the primary ‘dispositif’ of the film.
The narration will be in the form of present-tense ‘confessionals’ as I look at each scenes in her life and tells us, the audience, what I am experiencing, feeling and thinking in that moment. The audience gets to hear real time what I may be wanting to say to my subject. At other times, we are hearing excerpts or adaptations of my journal entries throughout the years.
WHY?
- To articulate, paint and explore the nuanced landscape of female power.
- To take the lid off of the taboos and stigmas's placed on women's sexuality.
- To artfully map the transition from maidenhood to motherhood, both literally and archetypally.
And I'm willing to do that by telling the story I have most nuanced access to – my own.
13 years ago, when my fiancé proposed to me, at the time I was living in one of San Francisco’s notorious sex communes and exploring polyamory. Perplexed by the promise of marriage while in such a free and unruly context, I decided to pick up the camera and begin asking questions of the unconventional people around me, asking, ‘How do you do love?’ At the time, I did not know I was making a memoir, I was simply using the camera as a research tool in a search for liberation from old constructs.
I was born in Poland to a traditional family, and emigrated to the United States at a young age. Raised bi-culturally, I have always felt like I am bridging two worlds. Like so many, I have come from a lineage of women who lived through war, sacrificed their own dreams, possibilities of careers, and gave up the chance to know themselves erotically in order to secure the safety that came with marriage, to raise children, and to fit safely into the acceptable status quo of society’s relational boxes. Since a young age, I knew I could not live inside of these boxes, yet did not see other models…. Until my 20s.
It wasn’t until about two years ago that with the encouragement of my film team, I recognized I have a story to tell, along with the materials to do so. As I review volumes of old journals, certain writings become the narration I use and adapt in the film. The footage I have collected over a decade consistently has a very personal, handheld and closeup aesthetic.
The title “Intimate Revolutions,” for me evokes the way I have chosen to live my life; taking the most intimate areas of my life; romance, sexuality, family, child – and re-examining what I have been told. As a queer person, and now a mother, I feel motivated to leverage my own authentic story to shed light on the nuanced complexities of intimate life, exposing taboos and authentic longings; be they to have a thriving career as a female artist, having the security of family and challenge gender stereotypes.
(Beltane Celebration at Tamera in Portugal)
WAYS TO SUPPORT
- Make a Financial Contribution!
- Become a 'follower' on seed and spark! (with a certain amount of followers during my campaign, I unlock prizes like waived fees when applying to film festivals in the future!)
- Text this campaign page to a friend or two directly who you think would feel inspired to support!
- Post about this on Social Media!
- You can contribute SKY MILES to me! I'm aggregating miles on UNITED AIRLINES to be able to fly to Europe, (DM me for my mileage number)
- Offer a perk! This is a wonderful way to bring mutual visibility to our both of our works!
STAGE OF FILMMAKING
This film is currently in late-stage development and entering early production. I have accrued 13 years of archives; including photos, audio recordings and personal footage. The next three months are a critical moment to create 2 excellent promo-reels (funding trailers) of different lengths and refine the treatment that can secure further production funding, labs, residencies and further co-productions. In January, Julia will attend the 3rd module of the CIRCLE Women Doc Accelerator at the Trieste Film Festival in Italy, where she will need to have ready materials to present to producers, funders and distributors.
These materials are essential, and become the ID card of the film, attracting the right support along the way.
With production funding, I will be able to invest more time to document my Polish family, life and origins to embellish and balance the story much more. Poland is a very conservative country with dogmatic Catholic values where abortion is illegal and LGBTQ life is under threat. The juxtaposition of this narrative is essential for the film, and this first step in funding will build the bridge for us to get there.
We are hiring Charline Branger of Catlike Productions, an expert trailer editor, to edit the trailers. We will use these trailers at upcoming pitching forums like Trieste and CPH:DOX, where we intend to secure co-production partners in Europe, especially in Poland and Germany.
This Spring and Summer 2024 involves fundraising for the next stage of Production and filming further scenes with existing characters and Julia's family.
I am well poised to take this project to the next stage, as since June 2023, within CIRCLE, she has received targeted mentorship with:
- script analysis + storytelling
- producing 101
- market positioning
- packaging + pitching
- coaching in how to develop trans-national co-production agreements
- international promotion of myself as a filmmaker
(2023 CIRCLE Accelerator cohort with mentors)
With deep gratitude for your support,
Julia Maryanska
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Producers fees
Costs $2,000
Producers help films run! With this fee, I can pay a producer to help me raise production funds to continue the project.
Travel Costs
Costs $3,300
Flying to Europe multiple times in one year, plus hotel, taxi, trains,
CIRCLE Documentary Accelerator Program Fees
Costs $3,800
While the year long program is subsidized by the EU, there are costs with mentorship, lodging, festival entry fees, and food.
Editing Fees for my promo reels!
Costs $5,350
I have hired an expert trailer editor (and CIRCLE mentor) to make me 2 different promo reels that will help me secure production funding!
Festival Badges
Costs $600
Badges allow me to attend future festivals like Berlinale and CPH:DOX where I can pitch my film and secure European co-productions!
Share this update!
About This Team
Filmmaker
Julia Maryanska is a Polish-American filmmaker and producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a Bachelors Degree from Skidmore College in International Affairs and French. She has worked on award winning films such as “My Reincarnation”, and “Regarding Susan Sontag,” and was assistant to Academy Award winning director, Judith Ehlrich. Julia is the associate director and producer of the feature doc, “The Village of Lovers” which is currently touring in Film Festivals internationally. She has directed and edited short films and music videos that have won awards at festivals, been featured Uplift.TV, Gaia TV and more. She is the co-founder of the media collaborative, Re/Culture Media, which produces stories and immersive theatrical events in service at the intersection of mythology, eros regenerative culture. She is also multi-lingual, a photographer, a violinist, a master NLP practitioner and a mother to a young girl.
Executive Producer
Marc J. Francis is a director, producer and cinematographer based in the UK whose documentary films have won world wide critical acclaim and have been distributed across cinemas, television and streaming platforms. His most recent film 'Walk With Me’ about Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as narrator, launched at the SXSW Film Festival and was a global box office hit before being released on Netflix and Amazon. (Marc became involved in 2019)