A series of mini documentaries, short anthropological and poetic sketches that tell about Swans' ordinary everyday life, their spirituality, beliefs and mythology.
We arrived in Kutaisi in July right into a hot pit. It was this quiet, melting, merciless heat that transforms my brain into a jellyfish. Such heat makes me dumb, immobile, incapable of any action or even a thought. We realised at once that we have to go to the mountains to find some fresh cool air. We knew little about the Svaneti region but after a quick research realised it was the place to be. Located in the highest north-west part of the country, in the Caucasus mountains, it promised to be a salvation from the burning mainland.
We took a train to Zugdidi and then a "marshrutka" to Mestia, the main town in Upper Svaneti. "Marshrutka" is a soviet DIY transport system, using old mini vans. Going in this van is an exercise of trust. Zooming at high speed in this metal unbreakable vessel through serpentine roads, often broken by falling rocks and worn-out by heavy trucks and rain, we surrender to this inevitable experience. A soothing feeling of trust is spreading in my body. I trust the driver, with a cigarette in his teeth and an old beret on his head. I trust the road, the steel skeleton of the van, the mountains, our decision to take this adventure.
We start to learn more about Svaneti. We learn that Swans live in these mountains for thousands of years. At the beginning of the Christian era they preferred an alliance with Persia over Greeks. This connection with Iranian culture intrigues me and it's something I want to explore further. We learn about Swan legends which abound in stories telling how Swans acted as one to rebel against all sorts of encroachments of the Romans, Byzantines, Imperial Russia and Soviet Union... I am fascinated that Swans love their independence and freedom and relate to their rebellious spirit. To me it feels like they refuse to betray their Self, to be corrupted by the "benefits" promised by delusional imperial ambitions of their neighbours from different times...
This is the one thing about Svaneti that I realised at once as we came here, one that inspires this project. While there I have a strange and pleasant feeling that I am not in any particular country, as a political entity, as a modern country-nation. I do not feel that I am caught in a particular moment in history (a difficult one though, where more than 20% of Georgia is occupied by its enormous insatiable neighbour). In Svaneti I feel being in a land, a place, a community that are united by something other than political states have to offer.
During our first stay in Mestia the idea for this project started to take shape. "Du côté de chez Swans" is an artistic and anthropological investigation into the geist of this place and the identity of its people. The name for the project is inspired by an oeuvre of Marcel Proust and it is translated into English as "Swans' way". And this is what we have been exploring during our expeditions: the paths of this land, Swans' ways of living and being, their ways of engaging with each other and with their heritage.
"Du côté de chez Swans" is a series of mini documentaries, short anthropological and poetic sketches, that would tell about Swans' ordinary everyday life, their spirituality, beliefs and mythology. For me, this journey starts in Mestia and then leads to Ushguli, a community of medieval villages located at the edge of Upper Svaneti, high in the Enguri gorge.
One of our first nights the electricity went off and stayed off for a couple of days. I stopped using all devices to preserve the remaining battery, but it quickly stopped being a bother. You could feel that electricity is far from necessary for survival here. Looking at the ruins around me I could not help but quietly rejoice that modernisation has not reached this place. Yes, it is harsh and ruined, but this place belongs to its people. At least, for now. The initiatives to restore buildings or open guesthouses remain in the hands of its inhabitants, not imposed by state or businesses.
One of the first things that strcuk me deeply is that Ushguli lies right at the foot of Shkhara, one of the highest peaks of the Caucasus mountains. It is also a magnificent glacier that defines the entire setting here and dominates the aesthetics and the spirit of the place. It covers the land in a fine lace of nacre. Thin tinkling icy pearls, generously scattered over the mountains, merge with the whiteness of the clouds. This gives the whole site something reminding a scenery of a cold northern sea. Stillness, thin air, solemn coldness of this place make everything around clear, light and sober.
Amidst this magnificence I could feel that the glacier is fragile, that something is happening to it. Further on I found this article, saying that Shkhara glacier is disappearing. I was determined to approach it to witness it in its glory. We took a horse ride and went right up to the bottom of the glacier.
Approaching the glacier is like swimming in cold ocean waters in winter. It wakes you up and clears the mind. But it also gives a glimpse into a primal fear, something that primitive people would live through every day. Fear of the unknown, fear of gods. And yet it invites me to go further, to surrender.
It is inspiring to learn that there are people who are actively doing research and work to protect this unique site. I hope to connect with them while working on this project.
The first thing we did when we arrived in this land was go to the local church. It stands at one of the entrances to Ushguli, on top of a hill, overseeing the whole community of villages and overlooked by the glacier. I do not intend to sound religious or anything like that at all, but I can say with certitude about my immediate experience that there is something special in this church. Inside, between its cryptic stone walls, there is an energy that is so dense you can almost see it with your bare eyes. It was incredible, and shared with Dilara who is not a very frequent visitor of churches or other places of worship. People have been praying and meditating here for more than a thousand years (the church dates back to the 10th century) and I can tell you that we could feel the intensity of their prayers and presence.
The church is called Lamaria Church of Ushguli and it is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God, as Swans call Mary "Lamaria". But before the Christian era Lamaria was an ancient and powerful deity worshipped here for many centuries. You could say that the spiritual energy here was accumulated from layers and layers of very ancient ways of praying.
So I started to learn a bit more about Swan spirituality and myths and came across a very interesting paper by Kevin Tuite. Through this paper I learn that Lamaria is the "goddess of the fertility of the land, of childbirth and the protection of women". She is also goddess of the hearth (which might be a testimony to a connection with the Persian concept of the hearth fire, maintained as a permanent presence in Zoroastrian homes. But this is my speculation that I hope to have a chance to explore).
I learn that Lamaria is also closely related to another powerful goddess, Dæl. If Lamaria is a goddess of hearth and more broadly of female energy focused on the household and birth, Dæl represents another, Aphrodisian aspect of femininity. Dæl is "the golden-haired, glowing, sexual predatory, touchy, jealous and lethal patroness of the game animals of the high mountains". In some myths both deities are much alike and their qualities merge. Both would be the representations of the same more ancient cult, which is also connected to the Mesapotamian Inanna-Ishtar. That is something that drives my speculative imagination as I remember Thomas Mann's stories about Ishtar and her dangerous seductive sensual allure (see T. Mann, Joseph and his brothers).
What inspires me for this project is to return to Ushguli and find out more about these myths, talk to local people, to the female monks living at the monastery close to the church, witness the rituals and festivals that are still present and celebrated and document it. Kevin Tuite gives a great description of one such ritual, the "tower feast", which involvs the construction of a snow tower at the heart of the community: "At the festivals of Aɣbæ-laɣrǣl and Limurq’wamal [the “tower feast”], the chief element is the building of a snow tower. Into the center of it is stuck a fir, linden or other sacred tree … at the top of which is attached a woman’s head scarf as a flag (in Upper Svaneti), or a human-shaped figurine “Lamaria”, which holds a dagger in its hand, and has a wooden phallus hung down in front; a torn piece of sieve-screen (called a “shield”) serves as its face … In Upper Svaneti, the round dance known as samti č’əšxæš is performed next to the Lamaria figurine, by six elderly men. While singing they climb up the snow tower and dance around “Lamaria”, after which they shake the tree until the “shield” falls down".
We intend to begin pre-production in Fall 2026 and commence principal photography in February 2027 and at the end of Spring 2027. This is an ideal season for production: several significant festivals (Lamproba festival ) and celebrations take place during this period, and the light and spring colours provide great visual conditions. A second filming period is planned for Fall 2027. Post-production is scheduled to run through end of 2027 – first half of 2028.
Up to 6 short documentaries, approximately 20 minutes each, shot on professional digital cinema equipment. The films will draw on in-depth conversations with local people, ethnographic observation, and immersive fieldwork conducted over multiple research expeditions.
We are currently conducting extensive research into Svan folklore, mythology and spiritual traditions; developing the expedition and shooting plan; and actively seeking funding to move the project into production.
Michael Gostev
Filming, editing
Dilara Bilek
Digital art
Filming, editing
Dilara Bilek
Digital art
Soundtrack:
1) Vlad Suppish, “Svaneti Tempel”, 2025. [bandcamp].
2) Kim[bal] (Kimbal Bumstead), “Ushguli”. Original recording by Rafael Diogo (@deepdivesound).
Both tracks as well as the recording by Rafael Diogo are part of Sonic Heritage project by Cities and Memory.
3) DJ Delivero, “Stream(ing) from Svaneti ”, “Nun humming chapel”, from Svaneti Streams, 2025. [bandcamp].