A comment from IMDb user calvincrack that I want to save from oblivion, originally posted Sept 9 2012:

"I was lucky enough to attend a screening at the Arclight Hollywood Dome featuring a Q&A with Mark Magidson and Ron Fricke afterward. For those of you who might be interested, here are some questions and answers that I remember. Keep in mind that these are memories and thus paraphrased by definition.

'After witnessing so many different rituals, what is your perception of god?'. Fricke: We are all spiritual beings, always have been. We just need to get over it and do good.

How was making Samsara different than Baraka? : This time, making the film was easier due to the internet. a lot of the things they ended up filming, they found on youtube! they found some inspiration online and then went out to film these things in real life (such as the prison dance).

Was it difficult to get access to the factory/farms (slaughterhouses)? : They were not able to get access to them in America, but abroad it was surprisingly easy. In fact, the companies very much wanted their logos to be seen in the film.

A highlight for Magidson was the scene toward the beginning with the temples scattered across the land, off into the distance, which was filmed in a hot air balloon.

How did music factor into the editing process? : Sansara was edited in silence (as opposed to how they had worked in the past).

There are currently no plans to have the film shown in 70mm. they haven't printed any 70mm reels of Samsara. they didn't elaborate too much on the reasons why. however they said that being able to show the film digitally means that every audience gets to experience a pristine copy of the film. this is important to the video portraits where the subjects were asked not to blink. the stillness and consistency of the image allows for a lot more connection between the subject and the audience.

How'd they get that great time lapse footage of Los Angeles? : Shot from a helicopter at 2 frames a second.

How do they feel about the film's classification as a 'documentary'. : They don't' really see it that way. It's more of a guided meditation. It's all non fiction, but words aren't used and the themes are communicated visually.

'Was it tough in this day and age to get financing for a moving shot on 70mm film?' : Magidson said that it's always tough to get financing for a picture made independently, but it has gotten easier as they went along. Baraka has done well over the years, and that was helpful.

I asked them 'what's next' and Magidson said they have some ideas. Fricke said that they were thinking about doing a Romantic Comedy. ;)

If i remember anything else cool, i'll add it. The film was magnificent and features many of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Make sure to see it on the big screen."