Samsara VR teleports the audience to a journey that spans millions of years. Like the Six Realms of Existence in Buddhism, the audience reincarnate into different persons and creatures and experience the universe in their new bodies to find the ultimate transcendence spiritually.
The story of Samsara happens in the near future. The resources on Earth have depleted due to the greed of mankind. Catastrophic wars to fight for resources result in global destruction. The remaining human was forced to leave Earth and find a new home. Nevertheless, will this long quest for a new home be a loop in space and time? The constant evolution as well as progress, without spiritual advancement, is nothing more than a Möbius strip that leads nowhere, perhaps…
Samsara is an experiment based on the concept of Embodied Cognition. Through interactivity and VR, the audience can live inside bodies of different persons and creatures. It is when we feel this world in different bodies that we may truly appreciate the thoughts of others, empathize with them, and comprehend our existence in full and in harmony.
Samsara VR teleports the audience to a journey that spans millions of years. Like the Six Realms of Existence in Buddhism, the audience reincarnate into different persons and creatures and experience the universe in their new bodies to find the ultimate transcendence spiritually.
The story of Samsara happens in the near future. The resources on Earth have depleted due to the greed of mankind. Catastrophic wars to fight for resources result in global destruction. The remaining human was forced to leave Earth and find a new home. Nevertheless, will this long quest for a new home be a loop in space and time? The constant evolution as well as progress, without spiritual advancement, is nothing more than a Möbius strip that leads nowhere, perhaps…
Samsara is an experiment based on the concept of Embodied Cognition. Through interactivity and VR, the audience can live inside bodies of different persons and creatures. It is when we feel this world in different bodies that we may truly appreciate the thoughts of others, empathize with them, and comprehend our existence in full and in harmony.
Director: Hsin-Chien Huang (TW)
Producer: Hsiao-Yue Tsau (TW)
Music: Jason Binnick (US)
Project manager: Chung-Hsien Chen
Programming: Wei-Chieh Chiu, Hua-Lun Wu, Chun-Yen Yu, Pei-Yang Yeh
Concept design: Guan-Yi Li, Zu-Wei Chen
Actor: Sheng-Fang Hsu
Singer: Su Yang
Voice actress: Francesca Lo Russo, Chiao-Chieh Lu, Dumile Dlamini
Special thanks: Chao-Hsuan Hung, Yi-Ling Chou, Indigenous Peoples Cultural Development Center
With support from: Kaohsiung Film Archive VR Film Lab; Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA)
Hsin-Chien Huang (TW), a new media artist, born in Taipei City, is adept at combing VR, interactive installations, performing arts, and power machinery to explore greater possibilities for human life through technology. He is a distinguished professor in the Department of Design at National Taiwan Normal University. In recent years, Huang’s revolutionary VR works have attracted international attention and won a variety of awards.
Hsin-Chien Huang (TW), a new media artist, born in Taipei City, is adept at combing VR, interactive installations, performing arts, and power machinery to explore greater possibilities for human life through technology. He is a distinguished professor in the Department of Design at National Taiwan Normal University. In recent years, Huang’s revolutionary VR works have attracted international attention and won a variety of awards.