Filmmaker Kabir arrives in Varanasi, the spiritual capital of Hinduism with a history dating back to ancient times. Kabir begins to film Durga, who works at a crematorium by the Ganges, and Amma, who awaits death in Varanasi to break the cycle of reincarnation. Kabir’s camera depicts the ordinary yet profoundly ritualistic moments in Varanasi with a skillful interplay of light and shadow. These visual elements are intertwined with an array of unsettling sounds—the persistent and mysterious ringing of a phone in the distance, a shockingly violent lynching captured through Kabir’s earphones, and the ceaseless prayers chanted through the streets during funeral processions. Through the ruptures in these imagery and sound, The Spark questions the violence that often manifests under the guise of religion and delves into the intricate complexities about individual salvation. (PARK Sun Young)