SAMSARA International Feature Competition

Set in the majestic landscape of the Himalayas and shot in glorious Cinemascope, Samsara-which means “the world we live in”-tells an epic tale of a spiritual quest. Ta shi (Shawn Ku) is a brilliant young Buddhist monk who is just completing three years of solitary meditation in a remote hermitage. Despite a life devoted from the age of five to spiritual matters, he finds himself experiencing a profound sexual awakening. While performing a routine harvest blessing, he is irresistibly attracted to the farmer’s beautiful daughter, Perna (Christy Chung). Tashi leaves the monastery to discover the bliss of sexual union and marries Perna who, it turns out, has spiritual wisdom that surprises and challenges him.

This film is almost indescribably beautiful. The sheer magnificence of the landscape itself is breathtaking, and the film is shot and directed with exquisite attention not only to the panoramic vistas, but also to the softly shadowed details of the interiors. With many scenes without dialogue, the silences are punctuated by natural sounds of wind and water, the low murmurs of the monks in prayer, the bells around the horses’ necks, and Tashi’s faithful dog barking in the distance revealing the profound complexities of Samsara, the world we live in.