ALMOST HUMAN
2019 | 48 min | DENMARK
Directed by: Jeppe Rønde
Australian Premiere
Screening with short film Losing Lena
Narrated by Stephen Fry, this haunting, deep, and lyrical film provides an engrossing exploration of our relationship with artificial intelligence. Philosophers, anthropologists, archaeologists and physicists explore what it means to be human in the age of exponential technology.
Award-winning Danish director Jeppe Rønde brings together ten of the world’s leading scientists – and one robot – zooming out intergalactic distances to rethink our relationship with technology and investigate its dilemmas in microcosmic detail.
The voice of Rønde’s vision is none other than world-renowned actor, writer and activist Stephen Fry, whose hauntingly beautiful narration, speaks to all mankind as he leads us through our history.
Spectacular and thoughtful cinematography encourages a desire for knowledge as it captures the sense of enormity of life and all its complexity.
Captivatingly eerie, Rønde has created a thought provoking film that will have audiences questioning the future of technology and artificial intelligence.
Almost Human is a fascinating exploration about what it means to be human and the role science plays in the rapidly changing world in which we live.
*This film has been exempt from classification and is restricted to people over 15 years. People under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
LOSING LENA
2019 | 26 min | DENMARK
Directed by: Kyra Bartley
Losing Lena follows the rise, fall, and re-engagement of women in the technology field. Featuring interviews with the original characters, and current experts in the field, the film springboards off the history of the Lena image.
A centrefold which appears in the November 1972 issue of Playboy – one of the highest selling issues ever. The image of Lena unwittingly became the baseline test image for computer image processing that is still in use today, and through it the film explores how its origin symbolises the gender bias that is still prevalent and an example of how technology can change to fit, and influence, societal norms. Losing Lena is a cautionary tale of the potential effects of history repeating itself, yet simultaneously also a film that drives awareness and change.
*This film has been exempt from classification and is restricted to people over 15 years. People under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
