Gambling, Gods and LSD

A filmmaker's inquiry into transcendence becomes an epic trip across countries and cultures, interconnecting people, places and times. From Toronto, the scene of his childhood, Peter Mettler sets out on a journey that includes evangelists at the airport strip convention centre, demolition in Las Vegas, tracings in the Nevada desert, chemistry and street life in Switzerland, and the co-existence of technology and divinity in contemporary India. Everywhere along the way, the same themes are to be found: thrill-seeking, luck, destiny, belief, expanding perception, the craving for security in an uncertain world. Fact mixes with fantasy; the search for meaning and the search for ecstasy begin to merge. Mettler blends documentary observation with lyrical cinematography, location sound with aural sculpture. The result is an audio-visual composition whose movements challenge our preconceptions, evoking wonder and awe at our daily existence. It is a mosaic of moments where the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. GAMBLING, GODS AND LSD invites the viewer to actively participate in the making of meaning, so that the central theme of the film and the experience of watching it become one and the same. A visionary, intuitive journey. A lucid and personal portrait of our times, GAMBLING, GODS AND LSD may change the way you look at the world. Director Peter Mettler is a member of this year's Joris Ivens Jury.