Learn more about the +RAIN Film Fest and the uses and implications of Artificial Intelligence in the film industry.

The +RAIN Film Fest is a film festival pioneer in Europe, as it presents 10 films from different countries. Its innovation? The films are created by Artificial Intelligence.

It was held at the Poblenou campus of Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) on June 14, 2023. According to the event’s director, Jordi Balló of UPF’s Department of Communication:

[It’s] a festival of discovery, a competition in which the films in competition are made with artificial intelligence, so we discover a new world.”

This festival generated a lot of expectations and aroused the interest of European moviegoers because previously, in 2022, a similar event had already been organized in New York: the AI Film Festival Runway.

The same director also explained that, although there is AI intervention, there was always a director behind the project.

Then, during the boom of Artificial Intelligence, two film festivals generated by this technology have already been held, which has led to the emergence of several debates.

Ethical, aesthetic and political implications

A.I. began to create texts, images, commercials, songs and now it has begun to generate films. What can we expect from this? Is it possible that Artificial Intelligence will displace human beings from cinema and other artistic productions?

We cannot predict the future, however, it is possible to analyze the new technology as a double-edged sword.

Within the film industry, Artificial Intelligence has been so successful in streamlining various tasks. In fact, A.I. helps filmmakers and the whole team in editing, audio, color, dubbing, scripting, etc. and it is something that is already well established in this industry because the companies that offer AI tools and services have been growing exponentially.

However, it has also implemented some activities that could be considered problematic such as deep fake images or videos. These images or videos have been seen mostly to “revive” deceased actors or figures in order to appear in movies.

So, if Artificial Intelligence can already write scripts, generate images, choose actors, what is the real participation of human beings in film production?

Source: The New York Times

For some, Artificial Intelligence does not represent a risk to human performance. According to British art expert Joanna Zylinska, “human creativity has always been partially non-human.”

Also, for executive producer Mitchell Block, it is the human beings who provide the creativity, the idea and the personality.

I think it’s like anything else, just because a typewriter replaced the pen didn’t mean that writing got better.

Mitchell Block

However, let’s remember that at the moment there is the strike of the Hollywood writers and actors union fighting for better working conditions and a regulation of the uses of Artificial Intelligence in the film industry.

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