Two souls across three lifetimes attempt to find meaning in their lives. In 1290’s Syria, we follow an Occitan Catholic nun, led by a Turkic Mercenary, fleeing the Ayyubids through the desert. In modern day South Africa we follow two friends as they experiment with ceremonial magic and hallucinogenic drugs - causing them to reevaluate their beliefs and spirituality. In the far future, a lone spacefaring man lies in his capsule and talks to his on-board AI as he approaches a possibly hospitable, but possibly barren planet.
Timelines:
In 1290’s Syria, the third Crusade just ended disastrously with the muslim caliphate destroying the last remaining crusader states in the east. Our protagonist for this timeline is an Occitan nun - fleeing from a fallen crusader state and trying to get safe haven in the Byzantine Empire - she has gained the help of a Turkish mercenary to lead her through the desert. As a catholic nun there are many social restrictions and expectations put on the character and her journey through the desert manifests as her taking more liberties with the dogmatic, rules and restrictions of her religion, and focus more on her personal faith.
1293 - Syria
2020- South Africa
In modern day; we follow both characters as interchangeable protagonists as they undergo a Neo-pagan ritual to invoke the Wiccan God and Goddess. The characters are from different cultural, but similar financial backgrounds, and are both trying to find meaning to overcome what they perceive as the nihilism of the day.
We have an imagined future where the characters are a human male, and the other an Artificial Intelligence; it is our goal to represent a world in which A.I. has been accepted as sentient and autonomous. This is highlighted by the fact that we embody the A.I. in the body that we have established several times in the other timelines.
2820 - Outer Space
ABOUT
The initial inspiration for the film came from a desire to tell a spiritual story outside of any specific cultural context. I soon realized that that would be impossible; since religion and culture often act as two halves of the same coin. This was a bit of an issue, until I realized that the fundamental spark of spirituality; of belief, could be brought outside of its cultural context if one could juxtapose several distinct instances of this phenomena. From this realization came the idea of a single narrative, with two characters, in three time-lines.