Samsara

In Laos, every morning, a Buddhist teenager visits an elderly woman’s home to read her The Bardo Thödol, a guide for the journey between death and the next rebirth. On her last day, the young man whispers the book’s final passages in her ear, closes his eyes, and meditates alongside her, as she embarks on a transformative journey into what lies beyond. 

The story moves to Tanzania, where a young girl named Juwairiya wakes up to the news that a baby goat has been born. She names it Neema, the Arabic word for blessing. 

Juwairiya lives with her family in Uroa, a village on the East coast of Zanzibar. Local women farm seaweed and make soap. The men catch fish. “Life is change”, Juwairiya’s grandmother explains. There is regeneration in the air. 

Samsara is a story split in two: two continents, two communities, two belief systems, two sets of experiences and inner lives. Between them lies a sensory pathway, all light and sound. The viewer is only asked to close their eyes and travel with it. 

This film contains flickering or flashing lights that may affect those with photosensitive epilepsy