AI International Film Festival Winners

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Narrative Short in English, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Tibetan by UDESH CHETTY - USA -  2022 - 13 min.  

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.

WINNER 4 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 4/2022:    

BEST ANIMATED SHORT 

BEST SHORT DIRECTOR     

BEST SOUND     

BEST ART DIRECTION

Narrative Feature Film in French by AUTONIN DOMAGE - FRANCE - 2021 - 122 minutes.  

UNICITÉ is an innovative apocalyptic thriller in Vlog style, filmed by the protagonists (found footage), halfway between thriller, horror and esoteric film.

Story:

2030, Aaron and Alexia find themselves at the heart of an insomnia pandemic that is slowly leading people to exhaustion.

Seeing the situation getting worse, the couple has fled the city.

However, the pandemic is not weakening, its origin seems to gradually become clearer.

Sectarian , biblical and occult verses, books, paintings and symbols as well as scientific and historical facts are interwoven with the apocalyptic story, which involves: 

- Effects of pandemic of sleep deprivation and sleep paralysis

- Melting of the Permafrost

- Regulation of artificial intelligence 

- Esoteric writings

WINNER 2 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 2/2022:

     BEST THRILLER

     BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Documentary Series Episode S3E1 in English by SHANMUGA SUNDARAM NAGALINGAM - SINGAPORE -  2021 - 46 min.

What is the future of Humans at Work as AI becomes prevalent? Serious,  but entertaining, overview of some of AI's most challenging aspects  regarding work. 

Zany presenter Chua Enlai and his robot buddy Delbo explore AI trends in the workplace through international journeys and humorous skits. 

Should we trust AI & robots to operate heavy machinery, work in space, conduct job interviews and supervise humans? Enlai and his co-hosts explore AI trends in the workplace and their impact on us.

As AI learns to do human tasks, will future work become more or less humane?

WINNER 2 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 4/2022:

     BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

     BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (DELBO)

AI Mystery Thriller in French by  MARC LOUIS DEVAUD  - SWITZERLAND-  2022-  89 min.

A young girl, who leaves to meet her tutor, seems to be the target of a dark hunter and a disturbing maniac. While the maniac leaves bodies in his path, while brooding over his past and his fallen dreams, and as the hunter unveils larger criminal intentions, the tutor leads the child towards an education that is completely out of control.

Director Marc Devaud: Thaidi is a small production with 7 professional actors from Switzerland, all wrapped up in the musical creation of Elisa Montaldo. I wanted to voluntarily deviate from the classic scenarios of the hero's journey while respecting certain stages on the emotions treated by John Truby, this with the aim of making a "different" film which stimulates the spectator so that he calls into question the values human and technological. I let myself be carried away by the inspiration of films such as directors Caro and Jeunet, Quentin Tarantino and Andreï Tarkovsky, to create an atmosphere and strange characters with metaphorical acts.

Marc Devaud is an independent director born in Switzerland in 1968. Initiated at the age of 15 in the editing of Super-8 films by his father, he made his professional career in the production of institutional and commercial films. However, he wishes to express himself in fiction and directs his first feature film with Thaidi in 2022.

WINNER 5 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 6/2022:

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

BEST PRODUCTION

BEST FEATURE DIRECTOR

BEST THRILLER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Web/TV Series Pilot in English by STEVE PERKINS - USA -  2018 - 6 min.

An elderly expatriate returns to the USA after a life overseas only to find that technology, and the social network, has changed his reality with several unintended consequences.

THE OLD ROGUE shows a future where offices are staffed by humanoids and projected 3D robotic images, and Social Media replaces Social Security,  

Director's statement:  

"The genesis of the story stems from the my long-time friendship with Jim Menges, who wrote it, and who worked in the tech industry for over 30 years.  I suggested that he write from his knowledge of the computer industry, the technology, and the people he knew. He wrote THE OLD ROGUE, and we had an actor’s reading while Jim visited me in Portland in August 2016 with Rick Sadle as Walter, and Tanya Thompson as BUI. We loved both of them. Jim returned to Bangkok, and wrote two seasons of episodes about Walter, The Old Rogue. "

WINNER 4 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 2/2022:

     BEST WEB/TV SERIES

     BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

     HONORABLE MENTION BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (TANYA THOMPSON)

     HONORABLE MENTION BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Animated Short in English by JOHANNES PARDI  - USA - 2022 - 4 minutes.

In FEEL, synthetic AI beings explore their roots and express their perspectives after being abandoned by their creators.

FEEL is a brilliant short animated film, both disturbing and hopeful, creative but meaningful, heartfelt and clear. Gives pause to think about the future of sentient androids. Great sound and music, great animations. 

GENRES:

Sci-Fi, Drama, Animation, 3d animation, Visual Poem, Romance, Fiction, Short, Science Fiction, Art

WINNER 3 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 2/2022:

     BEST ANIMATED SHORT

     BEST STUDENT ANIMATION

     BEST STUDENT DIRECTOR

Experimental  Reality Thriller in English by JUNGA SONG - CANADA -  2021 - 70 min.

This mind-bending experimental film shows a futuristic world where Artificial Intelligence dominates and quantum computers are getting popular.  AI decides to create the first ever quantum movie, an automatically generated story, which entangles actors with live events. Through a bizarre A.I. style audition, two lead actors have been cast and the quantum movie begins production, but questions quickly emerge about the safety of the cast, how and if they will survive.

ARTIFICIAL SELECTION is a composite film where the two lead actors are drawn into an intricate, fascinating, apocalyptic reality which repeats in variations.  It is unclear which actor is human and which is humanoid or both.

This brilliant film explores the differences between humans and humanoids and poses the question whether sentient beings of either kind are truly self-determinate.

WINNER 3 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 5/2022:

     BEST EXPERIMENTAL

     BEST INNOVATIVE CONCEPT

     BEST STORY

Narrative Film in English by HINGMAN LEUNG - CANADA -  2022 - 22 min.

The sudden shift from in-person to online classes due to COVID 19 has led to increasingly invasive AI surveillance technologies in education, including the use of problematic online proctoring software purportedly aimed at addressing academic integrity. 

#tresdancing, the fourth film in the Screening Surveillance series, speculates on the effects of escalating surveillance and control through educational technology. 

In this near future fiction narrative, a young person has little choice as they are forced to ramp up their engagement with a new, experimental technology in order to make up for a failing grade.

Genres: Sci-fi, Horror, Trans, Experimental, Art

Director Leung Hingman is driven by the core value of making social impact through her work in health research,  community building and filmmaker. Hingman is a multiple award-winning director, with her most recent short film, Curbside Pickup, reaching top three on CBC's Short Film Face Off. 

WINNER 2 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 8/2022:

     BEST SHORT DIRECTOR

     BEST STORY

Narrative Film in English by JEAN_BAPTISTE MARTINOLI - CANADA -  2022 - 3 min.

In the future, Captain Daria receives a message from an extraterrestrial civilization. An opportunity to discover a people and sumptuous landscapes. Images and music were entirely created with artificial intelligence, only the script being "human". No 3D is involved, just AI.

Jean-Baptiste Martinoli says this short film is the result of a quest spread over several decades. 

It was in the 80s that the idea crystallized in me that contact with  an extraterrestrial civilization could only be made from a distance,  without physical contact, and therefore without all the fear that  usually comes with the idea of an encounter with extraterrestrials.
Indeed, using quantum Entanglement for faster-than-light  communications, the range of a message is much greater than any space  shuttle.

According to the discussions I was able to have with the authors of the  various AI software involved, no one had yet used artificial  intelligence tools on images themselves produced by artificial  intelligence. The combination is particularly effective and rich in possibilities.

Narrative Film in English by BOHDAN ROMANKO - UKRAINE -  2022 - 9 min.

This Ukrainian short - created using state-of-the-art AI technology - follows a heart-breaking chat between an ordinary Ukrainian man, compelled to join the defense forces on the front-line of the 2022 Russian War, and his emerging girlfriend who anxiously follows his journey as war rages all around him doing what she can to help.

Director Bohdan Romanko: 

Volunteering helped me pull myself together and take my mind off of how fucked up my world had become as a result of the Russian attack. 

The short film “Plus" came out of UAID’s website, a short interactive piece created to raise awareness and solicit donations for the men and women fighting for Ukraine against the Russian attack. “Plus” was never “shot” as a short film. The story was uniquely crafted using computer code. The cinematic world was designed using artificial intelligence to innovatively re-create imagery from the war. 

The story and characters depicted in the film are fictional, derived from real-life Ukrainian heroes fighting on the front-lines and the passionate people volunteering to support them in the rear. Under the tutelage of Kevin Cooper, (we) create a novel, stand-alone short (as) yet another form of self-expression of the tragedy of this war, which will be used to further sound the alarm about Ruscism (or “Pашизм”, roughly translated as “Russian fascism,” the culmination of extreme right-wing values that now form the Russian war ideology and its terroristic attack on Ukraine). 

“Plus” is our way of adding our voices to the world’s discourse by speaking out as loudly and passionately as we can about the murders and trauma brought down on our people by Russian criminals. Time will not judge Russia kindly, we know, but the war is still here…still happening. Our economy has been set back a decade or more. People are being injured and dying daily….

WINNER 2 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 1/2023:

     BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

     BEST SHORT DIRECTOR

Narrative Film in Italian by GIUSTINO DI GREGORIO and MANUELA CAPPUCCI - ITALY -  2022 - 13 min.

In a world that has dreamed of defeating death, hybrid creatures try to survive while retaining a trace of their human component.Vera was sent to a newly built neighborhood with the task of setting up the Museum of Memory

Giustino is active since the 90’s as a composer (Sprut, 1999 Tzadik Records), video maker and audiovisual artist. Manuela began her artistic career as a painter gradually approaching minimalism. Together they form Minus.log. Vera is an experimental work, in which music and painting, analog and digital, partecipate as synaesthetic elements of an experience based on a subtraction and reduction process of the means. 

The attention of Minus.log is focused on the empty space, on the break, on a communication that comes from silence. Simple elements such as lines of light and minimalist shapes, interact with surfaces, sculptures or environments that, receiving the formal rigor, they play in the interstices of the sense and logic bringing up what is often shelved faster: the mistake, the wait, the repetition. Minus.log, in the creation of immersive environments, investigates and invites you to explore a different relationship with space and time, a dimension in which it’s possible to capture subtle nuances and minimal changes. 

Numerous outstanding works of art are featured in the Museum of Memory - too many to be featured here.

Documentary Film in English by LEON CARLO CHRISTIAN SPANO - ITALY / CHINA -  2020 -  81 min.

An experienced Silicon Valley engineer who has dedicated his life to Artificial Intelligence (AI) for over a decade felt confused and concerned about his future after realizing the rapid evolution of AI. 

Therefore, in order to find his potential in nature, he joined an international trekking expedition through the mysterious Caucasus region. Being inspired and protected by Natural Intelligence, he started a new AI journey exploring China, the UK, and the USA. 🇨🇳Chinese/Italian🇮🇹 Production.

The story focus on trekking as one of the sane options we have to make a discovery journey inside ourselves in order to get back the “good” energies from nature to take the next step. Aiming to inspire people to explore their own potentials, and to control their own fate in AI future society, the most important is to advocate AI for Good in the technology industry around the world.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/345176643

Narrative Short in English by JOACHIM PETER - GERMANY -  2023 -  5 min.

singularity knocking at the door: artificial intelligence explains to human beings why it does not need to reach consciousness to be powerful....

Director Joachim Peter: It was fascinating to work with actors and artificial Intelligence as co-author. Chat GPT contributed rhythm and flow to the script. As a whole, the script still is of human origin - at least I think so..

Joo Peter writer, filmmaker, artist born 1966 in South-West Germany 1987-1990 studied at Art Academy Stuttgart 1990 – 2002 working for theatre as stage designer, costume designer (drama, dance theatre, musical, opera) 1995-1999 studied at Film University Berlin Babelsberg (HFF) First documentary projects, works for German Televison WDR, ORB Since 2002 teaching art and media Since 2005 travelling Asia as writer, photographer, collaborator with indigenous organizations Since 2014 founding Cinemate Film (cinemate.org) 2015-2022 series of award winning film projects in Asia

Narrative Short  in English by SHAUN BROWN- USA-  2022 -  37 min.

After Scott Barnes downloads a secret AI app that helps him get revenge on a coworker, he becomes entangled in a far-reaching web spun by a powerful shadow organization on the deep web. Scott must follow the rules he agreed to in the user agreement…or suffer the consequences.

EnVeive awakens the viewer to the dark possibilities of an AI powered revenge app. Using skilled acting and direction, one is immersed in situations which are alarmingly realistic, but at the same time horrifying.

WINNER 2 AWARDS - AI International Film Festival 8/2022:

     BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

     BEST SHORT DIRECTOR

AI Animated ChatGPT Music Video  in English by  GORKEM GULAN  - NETHERLANDS -  2023 -  6 min.

No-body challenges us to think about where AI is leading us, with lyrics  by ChatGPT and voice by HAL9000. Think ChatGPT music video about the  future of AI and Humans.

Narrative Short  in English/Spanish by  TIANWEI WANG  - CHINA -  2019 -  75 min.

A daughter must overcome lies and deceptions in the AI world to solve the mystery of her missing father.

Director Tianwei Wang: Before my grandpa passed away, he recorded some voice messages for me. I had never listened to them after I knew his death, since I never wanted to face the cruelty. But once I began to listen to his voice messages after his funeral, there was a grievance and absurd idea of what if, I can collect more of his voices before he dies. 

What If I can build up him for just an eternal hologram from every details I remember from him ? But isn't it the way we have been always living? The social media friends, the emails, etc. I feel guilty about my idea of creating an AI grandpa. Because this is simply a betray of reality, but it's such a dangerous tendency of humanity - we all want to live in the world only tailors around us, no other chaos, no disturbance, and probably - based on illusion. 

In this movie, when Anna realized that her AI father DID NOT exist way before she felt him, she felt betrayed. I am trying to raise up an issue we are all facing today: as the AI technique improves, the feeling of human being is actually retrograding, and human emotion is being alienated.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/353030467

Narrative Short  in English by  YANG HU  - USA-  2023 -  9 min.

When robbing a coffee shop, a rebellious teenager must force a stubborn robot cashier to give her the cash before the police get there.

Snow Must Fall is a dramedy short film happening in a future coffee shop, an oasis amid a world filled with drugs and violence. A rebellious girl and a stubborn robot are connected in a robbery. The girl has been lost and addicted to drugs since her father’s death. The robot has been soberly trapped in the coffee shop for over a hundred years. They are different but also similar. 

Yang Hu is a screenwriter, director, producer and current graduate film student at Savannah College of Art and Design. She was born in China and got her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at Beijing. Then she started to work as a screenwriter for Chinese TV series and films. In 2021, Yang came to Atlanta and began her study in the US. Now she writes and directs short films, primarily focusing on dramas.

Narrative AI Short in English by  EMILY DOWNE  - UNITED KINGDOM-  2018-  3 min.

What does it mean to be conscious in a world that is becoming increasingly artificially intelligent? Can machines really see? Based on an interview with a professor in artificial intelligence, this short experimental documentary uses analog techniques to explore the human tendency to anthropomorphise simple drawings, and how we might do the same to machines.

Emily Downe’s most recent short film, The Redness of Red, was produced in collaboration with the Wellcome Collection in London. The project was pitched and screened in competition, appealing to the project brief set by the Wellcome Collection and winning two first prize awards for both the project pitch as well as the complete and screened film at the end of production. As a documentary, the film takes on the ambitious task of approaching the current issue of artificial intelligence in relation to consciousness. The film asks the audience to consider whether machines can be conscious; can they really see? Based on an interview with a professor in A.I., this experimental documentary uses frame by frame animation to provoke thought about our human tendency to anthropomorphise shapes and lines, and how we might do the same to machines as they become more and more life-like. The director worked with a composer to create an instrumental, poetic atmosphere, which is combined with the colours and textures of hand drawn animation to evoke the richness of conscious experience.

Narrative Documentary in English by  ANGELA ANDERSEN  -GERMANY-  2022-  44 min.

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.

Streaming only:

Animated Short without words by ANDREW LEE and TOM SHUM -Hong Kong -  2022 - 16 min.

LOOOOP is a simple but entertaining composite film with repeating segments, featuring a protagonist with integrated AI functions unable to change his fate. Or not?

After the daily routine work, you go back home as usual.  

You wake up on another day, discover you are being trapped in a death loop, again and again....  

Is it a game, a prank or, your faith?  

It is a story about whether you dare to get out from the routine or not. 

WINNER 1 AWARD - AI International Film Festival 4/2022:

     BEST COMICAL SHOR