Annette Berger & Grete Jentzen
Switzerland | 2018 | 84 min
World premiere
Languages : Urdu, Punjabi, English
Subtitles : English, French
Several cultures consider music one of the preferred paths for encountering God. The traditional religious chants in Islamic Pakistan are passed on from generation to generation as a form of high artistic expression, but also as a form of mysticism. The master Ustaad Saam roams the country giving lessons in this traditional music that never separates the artistic experience from the religious one.
This mystical path is also explored by the pilgrim Gogha Sain, for whom the encounter with God occurs through the quest for inner peace.
Closer to God is a voyage into the mystical practices of Islam, but also a reflection on the transcendental dimension of the human being. The film offers a real sensory and spiritual experience. Through a very meticulous mise en scène, the directors attempt to understand the beauty of the mystic gesture rather than the logic of the religion. A film that hinges on the idea that in order to better understand the other, one must, first and foremost, listen to them.
Elena López Riera