An "AI-Generated Docudrama" is Premiering at Tribeca. It Looks Awful

The Tribeca Festival is no stranger to shilling for generative AI. Last year, they showcased AI “creations” as part of an “innovative” section on the future of filmmaking (they also offered NFT passes to the fest in 2023.) This year, they’re premiering an entirely AI-generated film. Or “film.” How many quotes can I put around that word before the page breaks?

Dreams of Violets is a fully AI-generated film produced by studio Fountain 0 aimed at showcasing Iranian civilian resistance. It’s full-length, at 75 minutes, and is being described by Variety as a docudrama. It will highlight “five Iranians who meet in a Tehran alley before they’re executed, all witnessed from a window by Amir, a 10-year-old boy with cerebral palsy.” It’s inspired by the current unrest in the country, which has left thousands dead. Tribeca co-founder Jane Rosenthal called the film “a powerful example of how emerging technologies like AI can be used not simply as tools of innovation, but as vehicles for deeply human storytelling.”

“Director” Ash Koosha, who is from Tehran, said in a statement that he wanted to create a human-focused film but chose AI because it was cheaper and easier to use. This “film” cost about $2,000 to make, according to Fountain 0.

And it looks awful.

Frankly, on a purely aesthetic level, this is offensive, but morally and ethically, this is a disaster. Actual documentaries can, of course, be manipulated or skewed to a certain bias, but they still involve real people and their actions. Coverage of war is a risky business built on the work of brave journalists and documentarians who often risk their lives and freedom to do so. Iran has a long history of exceptional filmmakers going against an oppressive regime to make their art. And this mess? It’s a slap in the face to all of that. You want to slopify an ongoing war that’s killing thousands of people? And you don’t think that could end up contributing to an atmosphere of propaganda and fake news that’s fuelling this war? It could end up looking like Citizen Kane and it’d still be wrong. But don’t worry. It won’t look anything like Citizen Kane.

One wonders how eager Tribeca is to plug this film to its customers. It only has one screening scheduled — and none for press or critics — and doesn’t mention on its page that it’s made by AI. There’s also no programmer listed for the blurb, which is usually a bad sign.

Also, the “filmmaker” here? He’s also the bloody co-founder of the AI company that made it. In a press release, he and his co-founder and brother bragged, “This will understandably bring chills down the spine of many in Hollywood […] Moreover, we will actively seek top writer and director talent whose creativity can be harnessed to produce great movies without their imaginations and visions facing any financial constraints.” It’s a sales pitch wrapped around a piece of slop propaganda. So, why is Tribeca platforming it?! Well, Jane Rosenthal, the festival’s co-founder, is one of the producers of that horrendous The Wizard of Oz AI rewrite at Sphere in Vegas, which is both artistically bankrupt and retina-burning in its ugliness. One wonders what her personal investments are in this technology.

If that bubble could burst now, I’d really appreciate it.