NEWS ARTICLE: A NEW AI FILM FESTIVAL IS DEBUTING IN UTAH,
ABC4 TV August 9, 2023: The AI Project hosts it’s first panel on AI regulation, and invites the public to join
Bert Holland, founder and executive director of The AI Project and the AI International Film Festival along with actor Madelaine Lamah, and the communications director for the AI International Film Festival paid us a visit to tell us how their festival went in May, and give us the fascinating details of the upcoming panel.
“Should we regulate AI” is the topic discussed on August 17th. The panel and film festival back in May were very successful with positive feedback on both the screenings and the panel.
AI is a such a hot topic in the film industry, that they are receiving 20% more AI related film submissions every month! Their bi-annual festivals alone would not allow us to air all the really great films that deserve to be seen, so they need to have more frequent panels to keep pace with public discussion.
The fix? To add monthly events in a short format, combining expert-led public panel discussions with enlightening films from visionary filmmakers to create a consistent and collaborative platform for AI discourse on a regular basis, bringing together everyone interested in the AI topic, including tech industry, government, education, the arts, students and concerned citizens.
International AI Filmmakers Joachim Peter from Germany, Udesh Chetty from South Africa and Cristobal Ross from Chile are planning to join via zoom, as well as Utah participants Professor Rogelio de Cardona Rivera of the University of Utah, Jepson (Ben) Taylor of Dataiku and NYU, and many more.
Mark your calendar for Thursday, August 17th at Industry SLC, 6:30pm – 9:30pm. Admission is free, and audience participation is encouraged.
Tell us about the films you are showing. We will showcase three great films from our June 2023 competition winners:
• the exciting 27 minute experimental film “AI-lice through the Looking Glass” by Lerie Pemanagpo of Switzerland, exploring: How does it feel to be an AI? and should we treat AI Chatbots as sentient?
• the captivating 5 minute music video for the song “Flow” by GREBE, made by Steffen Müller, Germany, about a seductive offering of a woman to get lost in her world, while showing her aging process starting from infancy
• the revealing documentary “The Science of Success” by Annamaria Talas, Australia, which reveals how AI can now understand and even predict success in many different fields
• What are the next panels you are planning?
The next events in our series will be “What Shall We Do About AI in Education?” on September 14th and “How Will AI Affect the Film Industry?” on October 12th.
• What do you think about the SAG-AFTA topic in the film industry?
Actors are very concerned because AI can manipulate their likeness to create new films without hiring them again; writers are very concerned because AI can create new scripts without paying them. The studios have to be concerned because competitive pressure from AI-created content may squeeze their bottom line to the point they can’t afford to pay the actors and writers as they would like to. There is no easy solution.
• Anything more you’d like to add?
For those who can’t make our event, we are making all our winning films available streaming on the Eventive platform, and we are looking into broadcasting as well. See our website aifilmfest.org for more info.
August 15, 2023: KRCL Radio Interview
Later this week, the AI International Film Festival will host a panel discussion about the social and moral imperatives of regulating artificial intelligence.
RadioACTive got a preview with the festival's Bert Holland and Madelaine Lamah and panelist Rogelio E. Cardona-Rivera, an Assistant Professor in the Entertainment Arts and Engineering Program and in the School of Computing at the University of Utah, where he directs the Laboratory for Quantitative Experience Design.
- Aug. 17: The AI Project panel: Should We Regulate AI, 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Industry SLC. "In conjunction with the AI International Film Festival, the AI Project presents a panel discussion with industry professionals, filmmakers, professors, journalists, and policy experts such as AI Expert U of U Professor and Author Rogelio E. Cardona-Rivera, Chief Data Strategist and NYU faculty member Jepson "Ben" Taylor, and AI visionaries Christobal Ross (Chile), Joachim Peter (Germany), and Udesh Chetty (South Africa).
The evening's program will also showcase three enlightening films from the Film Festival June competition winners (see aifilmfest.org).
The panel will consider the proposals of the EU and individual states." For more details, click here.
There's a new Festival in town and its timing couldn’t be better - Deseret News 3/28/23
The AI International Film Festival will debut in Park City this spring and is aiming to broaden the conversation about emerging artificial intelligence tools.
By Art Raymond Deseret News Mar 28, 2023, 2:31pm MDT
A new film festival focusing on the good, the bad and the ugly of emerging artificial intelligence tools was originally set to debut in 2021, but ongoing COVID-19 restrictions at the time put the effort on hold.
Now, the AI International Film Festival is set to raise the curtain on a slate of some 60 films from around the world from creators who have either focused on exploring the societal impacts of artificial intelligence or employed artificial intelligence tools to produce their projects.
The event, scheduled for May 12-14, is poised to ride a tidal wave of interest, controversy and commentary that’s followed recent advancements in artificial intelligence tools like inquiry driven natural language processors ChatGPT and Bard and image generating engines that include DALL-E, Jasper and others.
AI Film Festival founder Bert Holland said the competitive festival received almost 200 submissions from filmmakers in some 30 countries and included work ranging from animated shorts to full-length features. Documentary explorations, comedic turns and tales of bleak futures wrought by AI systems run amok all figure into the mix.
Holland said the festival is aiming to expand the conversation about, and understanding of, the current and future implications of fast-evolving artificial intelligence tools.
“AI has been in development for years, and we’ve just witnessed a major advancement,” Holland said. “There’s a growing concern that general public and students need to know more.
“This technology will be the driver of a lot of changes the world is going to be going through, and we need to be prepared for them.”
Holland said the festival also includes a contest open to Utah high school and college students, offering over $1,000 in prize money and a screening at the AI International Film Festival awards ceremony.
Student entrants can create and produce 1- to 5-minute films of any genre using ChatGPT, AI gaming technology or both. According to festival organizers, the entries will be judged by international filmmakers, festival staff and faculty in partnership with local universities, colleges and educational institutions. The submission deadline for student films is May 10.
Holland said screenings for about 40 of the festival films will take place on May 12-14 at Metropolitan Redstone Cinemas in Park City, and there will also be virtual options that will include an expanded slate of festival content.
A sampling of films selected for screening at the festival
“Red Gaia”: A 13-minute narrative short film in English, Hebrew Sanskrit and Tibetan by Udesh Chetty (USA).
Alone on the dying red planet, among the ruins of human civilization, one last android desperately guards the last essences of life.
In her pursuit for meaning, she finds her own soul hanging in the balance. The mesmerizing voice of the android is Natasha Loring.
“Red Gaia” is a tone-poem meditation on life, death and rebirth, destruction and creation, and the cycles of existence, drawing inspiration from:
- The Bhagavad Gita.
- Dante’s “Purgatorio.”
- The Kabballah.
- The Tibetan Bardol Thodol.
- As well as the legendary science fiction writer Isaac Asimov.
“Honey, I’m Home”: A 24-minute narrative short film in Russian by Den Zarubin (Russia).
“Honey, I’m Home” is a gorgeous film-noir, exploring the tension between a killer and the victim, between AI assistant, customer service and client, and between life and death.
“The idea of the film arose at the moment of making a decision — to order sushi by phone,” Zarubin said in an artist’s statement. “The comic idea has transformed into a satirical genre story, where we can assume a near future in which artificial intelligence will be able to help by consulting human clients and in rather delicate moments.”
“Utopia”: A 44-minute narrative documentary in English by Angela Andersen (Germany).
In no time, Big Tech has created an amazing new world. Welcomed by many, even when it came upon us all with uncalculated risks.
But the tides are changing. A realization that unwarranted consequences of these convenient tools, thrills and distractions might need oversight is gaining speed and muscle.
In this context, “Utopia” focuses on Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse and Elon Musk’s vision to pair many human brains with implanted computer chips while also building an “escape hatch” to other planets. Just in case humanity will fail on Earth.
This film invites its viewers to be involved in a discussion on where humanity is heading.
Festival organizers said virtual and in-person attendees will be encouraged to rate the films and vote for Audience Choice Awards in several categories.
In-person attendees can participate in live discussions with international directors, actors and crew at select screenings. A panel discussion on May 11, featuring industry professionals, international filmmakers and academic experts, will explore how artificial intelligence tools are poised to reshape the world of cinema.
To learn more about the AI International Film Festival, including how to purchase tickets and find a list of festival films, visit aifilmfest.org.
News Article: First ever AI International Film Festival comi
Move over Sundance, an innovative new film festival is making its way to the Wasatch Back.
Ashtyn Asay Apr 13, 2023
Photo: Unsplash // Jakob Owens
PARK CITY, Utah — The AI International Film Festival will showcase 49 films from 20 countries produced by artificial intelligence (AI), or focused on the societal effects of AI. The festival will take place May 12-14 at the Metropolitan Redstone 8 Cinemas in Park City.
Bert Holland, the executive director of the AI International Film Festival, has been interested in the development for AI for several years. He began to contemplate hosting an AI film festival back in December 2021, and was surprised by the way the film community has embraced the idea.
“I was really surprised by the level of interest and the quality of films that came in,” Holland said. “The number of films coming in is pretty amazing. The last little while we’re getting up to about one film a day in terms of how many people are submitting, and the quality of the films is surprising.”
Although the films that will be screened all involve AI in some capacity, they cover a wide variety of subjects and genres. “Anima Possession,” a short film in Cantonese Chinese by Wai Mo Chan, follows a human-humanoid pair of lovers attempting to mend their relationship. “Artificial Justice,” a documentary feature film in Spanish by Simon Casal De Miguel, explores the role of AI within the Spanish justice system.
“I think there are two sides to this, there will be some viewers who will be really excited about the developments of AI and ChatGPT and things that are happening in our society today and the future of it,” said Madelaine Lamah, communications director for the AI International Film Festival. “And then there are some people who will be freaked out thinking whoa, what is happening? Where do we stand with everything?”
To Holland, hosting the festival in Park City was an obvious choice.
“I can’t tell you how excited these people are about coming to Park City… you don’t have to explain where Park City is, everybody already knows that,” said Holland. “So it’s great to have a venue that is already known and is in itself already an attraction to people, it’s made our jobs easier.”
The festival will include a panel workshop entitled “AI, GPT-4, and the Future of Humans,” which will be held on May 11 at the University of Utah. Speakers will include industry professionals, filmmakers, and faculty, who will discuss the impact of AI and GPT-4 on filmmaking, and society as a whole.
“The panel discussion serves two functions, one is to talk about where humanity is going with AI in an overall sense, and then where is this relevant for filmmaking,” Holland said. “We have an international filmmaker who’s gonna be joining us via Zoom from Germany, we have some research professors at the University of Utah, and some people from the film department at the University of Utah… we’re not prepared to announce the names yet.”
The festival will also host a student film contest open to Utah high school and college students. Participants in the GPT-4 / AI Student Film Contest are encouraged to make a 1-5 minute film of any genre, focused on the impact of GPT-4 and AI on society, or created using GPT-4 or AI technology in the production process.
The deadline for the competition is May 10, and the winner will receive over $1,000 in prize money, and have their film screened at the festival awards ceremony.
“The really special opportunity, which is why the students are so excited about this, is they get to see their work put on the big screen,” Holland said. “They’re going to be rubbing shoulders with international filmmakers.”
For more information on the AI International Film Festival or to purchase tickets, visit aifilmfest.org.
