divine time #1 – ali eslami

Divine Time is a cycle of video conversations about sacred technology and alternative temporalities that explores how the languages of cinema and video games articulate with the spiritual, mystical, and enlightened, tracing intersections between techno-corporeal realism and the metaphysics of digital experience. This cycle is curated by Zaiba Jabbar, curator, researcher, award-winning filmmaker, and founder of HERVISIONS, a curatorial agency, platform, and digital art studio focused on women, which produces commissions, exhibitions, and innovative events with a strong emphasis on the intersection between art, technology, and culture.

ali eslami
An Iranian artist based in Amsterdam, Ali Eslami works with virtual reality, interactive simulation, film, writing, installation, and performative lectures. Drawing on non-Western philosophies such as Suhrawardi’s Illuminationism, his work investigates temporal and spatial aspects of memory, human emotions and rationality, and computation. His engineering background and passion for video games fueled his fascination with cybernetics and an enormous curiosity about the creation of virtual worlds. His work has received the IDFA DocLab Award for Best Immersive Non-fiction (2016), the Golden Calf for Best Interactive (2020, with Mamali Shafahi), the Cremer Prize from the LWL-Museum Münster (2023), and the Wendy-Gutman Prize (2025).

support portuguese republic – culture, youth and sports / general direction of the arts. rtcp – network of portuguese theaters and cinemas.