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 (Tuesday 24th February)

18:00

She Taught Me Serendipity 18+
£6 for members
2h 7m | Japanese w/ English subtitles
An unexpected encounter with free-spirited Hana awakens the bored and out-of-place university student Toru to the joys of everyday life and the wonder of serendipity. But one day, fate strikes them both, changing their destiny forever.

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20:45

Breathless 12A
£6 for members
1h 30m | French w/ English subtitles
After killing a policeman, a reckless thief hides out in Paris with his American girlfriend, plotting escape. Jean-Luc Godard’s electrifying debut shattered conventions, launched the French New Wave, and remains a defining statement of cinematic cool.

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Tomorrow (Wednesday 25th February)

15:00

Ben Wheatley Filmmaking Workshop /
Are you aged 16-25, have an amazing idea for a film, but don't have the budget? Join us to hear from some young BFI Film Academy funded filmmakers, as well as special guest speaker Ben Wheatley. Tickets cost £5 (and includes entry to our Q&A screening of Bulk).

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18:00

Bulk 15
+ Director Q&A
1h 35m + 30m Q&A
When an ambitious scientist takes his string theory experiments too far, his “brane” explodes, and someone is left to deal with the consequences. Join us for a one-off screening of Ben Wheatley’s mind-bending sci-fi thriller, and a playful love letter to filmmaking.

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20:45

Nouvelle Vague 12A
1h 46m | French w/ English subtitles
Paris, 1959. Aspiring filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard sets out to make Breathless, unknowingly igniting a cinematic revolution. Directed by Richard Linklater (Boyhood), this lively, affectionate comedy-drama captures the birth of the French New Wave.

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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!