Film festival showcases what artificial intelligence can do on the big screen
NEW YORK (AP) — Artificial intelligence ‘s use in movie making is exploding. And a young film festival, now in its junior year, is showcasing what this technology can do on screen today.
The annual AI Film Festival organized by Runway, a company that specializes in AI-generated video, kicked off in New York Thursday night with ten short films from around the world making their debut on the big screen.
“Three years ago, this was such a crazy idea,” Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela told the crowd. “Today, millions of people are making billions of videos using tools we only dreamed of.”
The film festival itself has grown significantly since its 2023 debut. About 300 people submitted films when it first began, Valenzuela said, compared to about 6,000 submissions received this year.
The one and half-hour lineup stretched across a range of creative styles and ambitious themes — with Jacob Adler’s “ Total Pixel Space ” taking home the festival’s top prize. The 9-minute and 28-second film questions how many possible images — real or not — exist in the digital space, and uses math to calculate a colossal number. A stunning series of images, ranging from the familiar life moments to those that completely bend reality, gives viewers a glimpse of what’s out there.
