SamsaraU

Directed by Lois Patiño | Spain | 2023 | 1h 54m | Lao & Swahili w/ English subtitles | Starring Amid Keomany, Toumor Xiong, Simone Milavanh, Mariam Vuaa Mtego, Juwairiya Idrisa Uwesu

Amidst the Buddhist temples of Laos, a young man reads a sacred text to a dying woman. This text serves as a guide for finding one’s way through the afterlife. When the woman passes away, her spirit moves toward reincarnation in its next body. Experimental filmmaker Lois Patiño takes us on an immersive and sensory journey across continents via the cosmos in this meditative and transcendent examination of life after death.

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival.

Warning: this film contains flickering or flashing lights that may affect those with photosensitive epilepsy.

Reviews

‘Transcendent and transformative…its feels like new cinematic ground is being broken before our eyes, and the impact is exponentially increased if experienced with people in the dark of the cinema’
★★★★★
David Jenkins, Little White Lies

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Samsara between February 16, 2024 and February 22, 2024.

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What else is on?

Today (Monday 2nd February)

18:00

Theorem 15
1h 38m | Italian w/ English subtitles
A wealthy Italian family is destabilised when a mysterious stranger, played by Terence Stamp, seduces each member and disappears. Pasolini’s provocative allegory, once banned by the Church, becomes a stark Marxist meditation on sex, faith, art, and spiritual collapse.

Book here

20:30

Hamnet 12A
2h 6m
Shakespeare and his wife endure the devastating loss of their young son, straining love and family bonds. Chloé Zhao’s (Nomadland) poignant adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel captures grief, creativity, and resilience, with moving performances by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.

Book here


Tomorrow (Tuesday 3rd February)

18:15

The Voice of Hind Rajab 15
£6 for Members
1h 30m | Arabic w/ English subtitles
A girl trapped under Israeli fire reaches Red Crescent volunteers who battle impossible rescue protocols to save her. Kaouther Ben Hania’s harrowing docu-fiction hybrid confronts audiences with children’s suffering in Gaza, earning the Silver Lion and representing Tunisia at the Oscars.

Book here

20:30

The Devil's Backbone 15
£6 for members | 4K Restoration
1h 48m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
Spain, 1939. As the Civil War ends, young Carlos arrives at a remote orphanage haunted by secrets and a ghostly presence. Guillermo del Toro’s haunting classic blends gothic horror and history, revealing humanity as the most terrifying monster of all.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!