Private Project

The Cave: So the Goddess Can Always Find Her

THE CAVE is a movie about a small group of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers facing dying out because of its low birth rate and child mortality rate. "So the Goddess Can Always Find Her" is a proof of concept, but it is also the first act of THE CAVE.

Lucy, a shamaness, is in her early 70s. In Paleolithic hunter-gatherer years, she is ancient. Lucy has survived 20 children and 11 mates, one of whom is an accidental homicide at the beginning of the movie. Lucy is itinerant, usually alone but sometimes with a male partner if he lives long enough. She has never mated for love, only for practicality and or duty. But her last mate had also reached old age having survived numerous mates and all of his children. The two of them have a lot in common with him and they have rapport. But now they are holding vigil for his death.

  • Sylvia Toy St. Louis
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 17 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Sylvia Toy St. Louis

I am a middle-class Black American housewife who makes Arthouse movies in my livingroom. I develop script, character and production design using performance art and Method Acting techniques. My movies are rehearsed and produced with continuity. As a dramatist and filmmaker I have been most influenced by Theatre of the Absurd, German Expressionism, the New Wave, and filmmakers Dreyer, Cocteau, Bunuel and Rybczyński.

Special recognition: Outstanding Achievement, Calcutta International Cult FF; Special Mention, Athens International Monthly Art FF; Best Women's Film, L'Age d'Or International Arthouse FF; Senses of Cinema Top Films of 2019; Best Animated Feature Film, Hazel Eye Film Festival (2019); Best Fx Design, FICOCC #13 (2018); Grand Jury Award (2016) & Gold Award (2018), L.A.N.N.E.F.F.

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Director Statement

My current major project THE CAVE is a movie about a small group of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers facing dying out because of its low birth rate and child mortality rate. THE CAVE is a surrealistic experimental movie that explores the dark and the light of these characters' world.

In my movie, DARKNESS is the known because one can either see because there’s fire or not see because there is no fire. DARKNESS is the exact opposite of what was sold to us by 20th century psychology as The Unconscious. In this movie, DARKNESS is the only sure thing in life because day or night, DARKNESS is the same. In contrast to this, LIGHT is the unknown because what is seen and understood is slowly revealed through accident, luck, risk-taking and inspiration.