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	UNDERWORLDS or Death and Resurrection of the Child-God Soma
	Documentary film (43min.) by Petrus van der Let, 2010

This documentary film searches for answers to these questions: Is Europe undermined by miles and miles of tunnel systems, dating back thousands of years, as some scientists believe ? Or do these earth caves date from the Middle Ages ? Were they empty tombs for the souls of the dead, and eventually forbidden by the church ? How did this idea of a "soul" that is saved in an afterlife come about in the first place, and how was it utilized to increase the power and riches of the priests ?

In the ancient Indian Rigveda (1500 BC) some gods reflect certain stages of early infancy. Soma is a nursing baby about 6 months old. This phase of being breastfed must end at some point. Mythically speaking, this means that Soma must die to be resurrected as Indra, who represents the period of infancy between 6 and 18 months. This drama of being weaned was rewritten over the course of the following centuries by the caste of priests: Soma was no longer resurrected as Indra, but as himself, as King Soma, more powerful than any human king.

A film based on the themes of the essay   King Soma…  in the book  Herrscherkult und Heilserwartung , ed. by Jan Assmann and Harald Strohm, Munich, 2010. Further publications on the subject: Jesus und das Somaopfer by Harald Strohm, Munich 2022.

• Duration: 43 min. 13 sec.
• Format: HDV, Digi Beta, PAL, 16:9, stereo, version with English subtitles
• Director: Petrus van der Let
• Camera: Benjamin Epp, Walter Wehmeyer, John Wood
• Production: Petrus van der Let Filmproduktion in cooperation with ORF, PLANET-TV, Filmfund Styria.
• Festivals: Festival Internazionale del Film Archeologico di Rovereto, Italy (October 2011) www.sperimentarea.tv and www.archeologiaviva.tv; MEDIMED Sitges, Spain (October 2011)
• Broadcast: BRalpha 06/01/2011 at 9pm
• Distribution: vanderlet.p@aon.at
• DVD with English subtitles: Alibri-Verlag www.alibri-buecher.de ; Euro 14,99
• Trailer: www.youtube.com/user/AlibriVerlag or Underworlds
• Interviews and off-narration: Where the Gods come from (PDF)

After "Gods with Pointed Caps", "Punch and Prophecy", "Journey to the Cradle of Europe" and "Dragon Slayers", UNDERWORLDS is the fifth part of a mini series on the origin of myths and religions in infant perception.

Film locations: Austria, Germany, Spain, Turkey, India.