Samsara

Samsara

64th TIFF: Greek Premiere

A transcendental film, Samsara is not merely something you watch; it’s an experience that touches you deeply and transports you to a dimension beyond familiar sensations. It commences in Laos at a Buddhist temple, where dozens of young disciples apprentice alongside wise monks. One of them crosses the river daily to read a text to a woman who serves as a psychopomp. When her time comes to depart this life, her spirit embarks on the path of reincarnation. Transitioning from Laos to Zanzibar and evolving from images to their absence (at some point, the film invites you to close your eyes), the viewer is called to surrender to tranquility and spirituality on a journey that unveils intellectual, aesthetic, and cinematic pleasures, aiming to reshape our perception of cinema itself.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Available at the Agora Market TIFF64.

Direction: Lois Patiño
Script: Lois Patiño, Garbiñe Ortega
Cinematography: Mauro Herce, Jessica Sarah Rinland
Editing: Lois Patiño
Sound: Xabier Erkizia
Music: Xabier Erkizia
Actors: Amid Keomany, Toumor Xiong, Simone Milavanh, Mariam Vuaa Mtego, Juwairiya Idrisa Uwesu, Bernedeta Gaspar, Ame Simai
Production: Sr&Sra
Producers: Leire Apellaniz
Executive producer: Garbiñe Ortega, Claudia Salcedo
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Spain
Production Year: 2023
Duration: 113'
Contact: Bendita Film Sales
Awards/Distinctions: Encounters Award (Special Jury Prize) – Berlin IFF 2023

The screening is not recommended to viewers with a history of photosensitive epilepsy.

Lois Patiño

Lois Patiño (Galicia, Spain, 1983), filmmaker and artist, has shown his films at festivals such as Cannes, Berlinale, Locarno, Toronto, Rotterdam, New York, Viennale, IDFA, Oberhausen. His most recent works Sycorax (2021) and The Sower of Stars (2022) have premiered at Cannes Quinzaine and Berlinale Shorts. His two feature films Costa da Morte (2013) and Red Moon Tide (2020) premiered at Locarno and the Berlinale Forum. His last feature Samsara had its world premiere at Berlinale Encounters (2023). He is currently working on two other films, to be premiered in 2023 and 2024.

Filmography

2012 Montaña en sombra (short)
2013 Costa da Morte
2015 Estratos de la imagen (short)
2015 Noite sem distancia (short)
2016: Fajr (short)
2020 Lúa vermella
2021 Sycorax (short)
2022 El sembrador de estrellas (short)
2023 Samsara