Auroville’s Matrimandir & I
2026 Episode Premiere
Meet the Storyteller Behind Matrimandir & I
and 4 Participants in the Series
Saturday April 18
Watch the full presentation below. Thank you for joining!
We welcomed Serena Aurora and 4 Episode Participants for a Film Screening and Conversation about the Matrimandir and I Series
For years, filmmaker Serena Aurora has been quietly capturing the heart and soul of Auroville showing the special connection between those who inhabit it and it’s spiritual center, the Matrimandir.
Join Serena, Mona, Kripa, Sasi, and Sandyra, in conversation with Matthew Andrews for our AVI USA premiere screening of Episode 7 of the Matrimandir and I, on April 18!
Through her lens, the documentary series Matrimandir & I brings the intimate voices of Aurovilians to life, sharing what this sacred space means to them.
At this special screening, audiences will see something new: Serena herself appears on camera for the first time, joining three other Aurovilians in an episode premiere.
Serena becomes part of the story she’s been telling for the past years, offering her own reflections and experiences of living in Auroville.
Whether you are familiar with Auroville or discovering it for the first time, this screening offers a chance to see the city through Serena’s eyes and share the experience of being in the presence of Auroville’s symbolic soul.
Through candid conversations and heartfelt moments, this episode explores not just the beauty of the Matrimandir, but the personal transformations it inspires — from finding peace and purpose to deepening connections within the community.
The event will be recorded and a link to the recording will be sent to all the registrants.
About the Filmmakers – Serena Aurora
Serena Aurora has been living in Auroville for more than a decade. With a background in film and communications from London, soon after her first visit to Auroville, she returned repeatedly over the next few years, eventually becoming Aurovilian.
The Matrimandir and I series began as an experiment more than 3 years ago, with episodes first featuring longtime Aurovilians such as B William Sullivan, Gilles, Francis. The series soon became a reference point in Auroville culture, with more than 70 Aurovilians featured in either single or the new group episodes.
The connection that all share with the Matrimandir, the inner transformation and spiritual center that all experience in its presence is transmitted to viewers in each episode of the series.
Serena Aurora’s work features award winning documentaries focused on sustainable living and harmony with the earth. Her newest project, The Karsha Nuns – is an incredible snapshot into the lives of a small community of nuns living in remote Zanskar, their voyage to Auroville where they received trainings in sustainable living, and their return to the remote monastery on a mountain cliff, where they integrate sustainable living techniques shared from Aurovilians.
Support for the Project
Earl Blauner and Linda Marks
We are grateful for the leadership support of this initiative from Linda Marks and Earl Blauner. Read their reflections on the Matrimandir and I:
The Matrimandir is to me the primary beacon of the Mother’s force spreading through the Earth. I feel this never having been there in Auroville in my physical being in its presence and with the knowledge that I likely will not be there in that way in my lifetime. But I regularly am consciously there in and around the Matrimandir. A photo of Aurovillians at the bonfire in front of the Matrimandir at dawn sits next to me where I read and study. And, of course, I have all the beautiful videography and the stories of Aurovillians through the many episodes of “Matrimandir and I.” Linda and I live in San Francisco, almost exactly on the opposite side of the Earth from the Matrimandir. Consciousness does not know such geographical limits.
Through a connection to Sri Aurobindo, in the last year of his life, his devotee Haridas Chaudhuri was sent to San Francisco to introduce the teachings of the Integral Yoga. This message has spread over these many years, my lifetime, through what has become the Cultural Integration Fellowship and the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). In 2018 representatives of Auroville joined CIIS in celebrating their joint 50th Anniversary here in San Francisco. Linda and I were there.
With all of this, It is only natural that from this connection the force emanating from the Matrimandir and all of Auroville would unite Linda and me with Serena’s and her team’s “Matrimandir and I” series.”
Earl Blauner and Linda Marks