Johnny Golding
Cast
Philosopher Johnny Golding ruminates on a formative childhood experience, when her father brought home an early prototype of night vision he was working on for the American Military 'Project Eyeglass'. Shot using corrupted night-vision footage, the film explores Johnny's…
Cast

On the first day of shooting, James Franco, David Shields, and Caleb Powell throw out the script when a real-life argument breaks out between the three of them about what can and can't be used in the film. Shields and Franco browbeat Powell to sacrifice everything for the sake of the film; Powell threatens to leave; Shields feels guilty about betraying Powell; and Franco wants Shields and Powell to confess all for the sake of the film. A debate, nearly to the death, about life and art.

Examined Life pulls philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, and puts it back on the streets. Offering privileged moments with great thinkers from fields ranging from moral philosophy to cultural theory, Examined Life reveals philosophy's power to transform the way we see the world around us and imagine our place in it.

Inspired by The Seven Valleys, the film follows a solitary wayfarer who steps onto a spiritual journey of self-knowledge, guided not by destination but by transformation. Shot across the historic landscapes of Oxford, the journey unfolds as both an inner pilgrimage and a physical passage that reflects the wayfarer’s movement toward surrender, silence, and submission.