Patrick Shen — Director (3)

Movie

In Pursuit of Silence (2016)
In Pursuit of Silence Douban
other title: 寻找寂静
In Pursuit of Silence is a meditative film about our relationship with silence and the impact of noise on our lives. In our race towards modernity, amidst all the technological innovation and the rapid growth of our cities, silence is now quickly passing into legend. From the Desert Fathers of the third century AD who became the model for Christian monasticism to John Cage's seminal work 4'33" which would go onto inspire a generation of artists, humankind has had a long fascination with silence. In Pursuit of Silence will be the first comprehensive look at this topic whose many dimensions lie at the heart of so much of human progress. Offering audiences a contemplative cinematic experience, the sights and sounds of this film will work its way through frantic minds, into the quiet spaces of hearts, and help shape a new vision of being.

Movie

Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality (2003)
Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality Douban
Patrick Shen / Greg Bennick actor: 加布里埃尔·伯恩 / Sam Keen …
other title: 逝世后的行程 : 对永生的探究
Narrated by Gabriel Byrne (Usual Suspects, Vanity Fair, Miller's Crossing), this seven-time Best Documentary award-winning film (Silver Lake Film Festival, Beverly Hills Film Festival) is the most comprehensive and mind-blowing investigation of humankind's relationship with death ever captured on film. Hailed by many viewers as a "life-transformational film," Flight from Death uncovers death anxiety as a possible root cause of many of our behaviors on a psychological, spiritual, and cultural level. Following the work of the late cultural anthropologist, Ernest Becker, and his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Denial of Death, this documentary explores the ongoing research of a group of social psychologists that may forever change the way we look at ourselves and the world. Over the last twenty-five years, this team of researchers has conducted over 300 laboratory studies, which substantiate Becker's claim that death anxiety is a primary motivator of human behavior, specifically aggression and violence. Flight from Death features an all-star cast of scholars, authors, philosophers, and researchers including Sam Keen, Robert Jay Lifton, Irvin Yalom, and Sheldon Solomon culminating in a film that is "not only thought-provoking but also entertaining and put together with a lot of class" (Eric Campos, Film Threat). Three years in the making and beautifully photographed in eight different countries, Flight from Death is "a stimulating, ultimately life-affirming film, filled with big ideas and revelatory footage" (Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times). Written by Anonymous

Movie

The Philosopher Kings (2009)
The Philosopher Kings Douban
other title: 哲学王
An exploration of wisdom in the heart of America's most prestigious universities. Wisdom is found in the most unlikely places.