75' 2019 Thailand, USA director: Pailin Wedel cinematography: Mark Dobbin, Mark Oltmanns editing: Nina Ijäs production: 2050 Productions
Will the development of science and technology eventually enable us to cross our final barrier—the barrier of death? Most of us still think this is a question for science fiction. But not all of us. In 2015, Sakhatorn, a Thai scientist and Buddhist, convinced his wife to keep the brain of their deceased daughter, Einz—who died from cancer at the age of two—in cryopreservation. Einz’s head is now in a cryonic container in a laboratory in Arizona. Her father hasn’t given up hope that, once awakened, she will be able to live a life in a new body. Despite his fervent faith in the power of science, Sakhatom realizes that he won’t be around to make that dream come true. And so, he passes the mission on to his son, Matrix, who shares his father’s passion for science. Matrix sets off on a journey to America to meet with leading researchers, as the entire family awaits their predictions in suspense. The film by Pailin Wedel—the winner of this year’s Hot Docs—clearly surpasses other recent documentary explorations of bioethical dilemmas. It is a fascinating, extraordinary, and profoundly human and universal tale of love, grief, family, faith, and reason.
