Hiroshi Ishiguro

Featuring robotics gurus and trans-humanists, this documentary breaks down what it takes to build AI and how robots may soon expand human life.

When a robot kills a human, who takes the blame? An eerie, eye-opening work of science nonfiction, this documentary charts incidents in which robots caused the deaths of humans--in an automated Volkswagen factory, in a self-driving Tesla vehicle and by a bomb-carrying droid--considering the issues that these cases raise in terms of accountability and morality.

Prepare yourself for an unparalleled sensory experience. SAMSARA reunites filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, whose award-winning films BARAKA and CHRONOS brought a new visual and musical artistry to theaters. SAMSARA is a Sanskrit word that means “the ever turning wheel of life.” Filmed over a period of five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on 70mm film, SAMSARA transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders. By dispensing with dialogue and descriptive text, SAMSARA subverts our expectations of a traditional documentary. It encourages our own interpretations, inspired by breathtaking images and transcendent music that infuses the ancient with the modern. SAMSARA explores the wonders of our world, from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man’s spirituality and the human experience and illuminating the links between humanity and the rest of nature.

We draw upon Philip K. Dick’s work as well as various cinematographic adaptations of his novels in order to illustrate the extent to which K. Dick’s oeuvre foretold the world that has become our own today. We will take the viewer on a fascinating journey to discover this extraordinary writer.