The premiere of two new short films that expand the possibilities of filmmaking, while centering bold, personal and poignant narratives. This event marks the culmination of a year-round program supporting the creation of original live-action works inspired by, and integrated with, emerging technologies. These films were completed in collaboration with OpenAI, who provided a full suite of tools and skills to support and expand the creative process. Both films - one scripted, and one hybrid documentary - explore memory, perception, and survival of a shifting landscape through an evolving cinematic toolkit.

After the screening: A conversation with filmmakers, moderated by Reza Sixo Safai

SMOKED
Directed by Alice Gu
Produced by Andrew D. Corkin and John Lang
Cast: Jane Levy, Eric Balfour, and Ben Lewis Doherty

Amid a raging wildfire, a mother’s search for her son’s plushie becomes a desperate fight to preserve his childhood innocence and her own dwindling sanity. A story of survival, love, and the inanity of customer service - based on the director’s lived experience of the Palisades fires.

Mauvais Soleil (Sunburned)
Directed by Youssef Michraf
Produced by Leo Blumberg-Woll

A filmmaker asks a sorcerer—an artificial intelligence—to give him the face he dreamed of as a teenager. Instead, it gives him another: inhuman. Intrigued by this synthetic figure that has taken his place in an old family photograph, he sets out through the streets of Casablanca to understand what it embodies. 

After the screening: A conversation with filmmakers.