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 (born 1983, Vigo, Spain) is a filmmaker and artist whose work has been featured at major international film festivals, including Cannes, Berlinale, Locarno, Toronto, Rotterdam, and New York. His films and video installations have been shown at leading art institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and presented at prominent art fairs including ARCO, Paris Photo, Photo London, and the Aichi Triennale in Japan. In 2016, Harvard University awarded him the Robert Fulton III Scholarship, recognizing emerging filmmakers “with an independent spirit, who explore diverse cultures with a deep aesthetic sensibility”. His four feature films to date are Ariel (2025 - IndieLisboa International Film Festival - Honda Silvestre Award for Best Feature Film), Samsara (2023 – Berlinale Encounters, Special Jury Award), Lúa vermella (2020 – Berlinale Forum), and Costa da Morte (2013 – Locarno, Best Emerging Director Award). He is currently developing The Cloud of Unknowing, starring singer Niño de Elche. His most recent short films include Sycorax (2021) and El sembrador de estrellas (2022), the latter receiving the Grand Prize at the Las Palmas International Film Festival. Patiño is part of the “Novo Cinema Galego” movement, alongside filmmakers such as Oliver Laxe, Eloy Enciso, Diana Toucedo, Alberto Gracia, and Jaione Camborda.