Cinema and Artificial Intelligence: Screenings and Discussion within US in Progress Open—AI and the Future of Cinema

KNH 8, 8.11, 15:00 

For the first time, an industry discussion on the future of cinema in the age of artificial intelligence will be opened to the public. As part of the US in Progress program, this time accessible to audiences of the 16th TAURON American Film Festival, a series of screenings and meetings will take place with filmmakers using AI in their creative practice.

AI is already part of the film industry—that’s a fact. But instead of approaching it with fear or resistance, we should see it as a tool to collaborate with. Artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly and is here to stay, so the real question is how we can work with it wisely to expand creativity and open new artistic possibilities.

On November 8, during this year’s American Film Festival, we invite you to the first festival screening in Poland dedicated to films created with the use of AI.The program, curated by Matt Szymanowski (Bear & Bot), showcases a new wave of filmmakers who use emerging technologies to liberate creativity from the constraints of the traditional production system.

We will explore a generation of independent artists using diverse AI tools to design cinematic worlds and visual elements that would otherwise be impossible or prohibitively expensive to achieve through conventional means—all while preserving their artistic and economic independence.

AI and the Future of Cinema—What to Expect

The special guest of the showcase will be Eliza McNitt, director of the short film Ancestra (also featured in the American Shorts section), created with extensive use of AI and produced by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Whale, and Caught Stealing screened at this year’s AFF).

Matt Subieta, producer at  Nagana.io, will present excerpts from Spec-Ops, a hybrid live-action AI project created for the Museum of the Second World War.

Matt Szymanowski will speak about his upcoming hybrid AI/live action feature Captive Mind and share insights from his recent AI cinema initiatives in Africa and the Middle East.

Bartosz Nalazek, a cinematographer at the forefront of the generative revolution, will discuss the importance of authorship and visual responsibility in the coming years, drawing on his experience in advanced AI integration and the evolving role of filmmakers in this process. 

AI and the Future of Cinema—The Program of the Event

The program (lasting approximately four hours in total) includes a selection of short American films from the past year, presentations by the filmmakers, and panel discussions on the broad future of cinema, in its artistic, social, and business aspects. The event begins on Saturday, November 8 at 3:00 PM at the New Horizons Cinema. The screening includes:

• Age of Beyond, dir. Aze Alter, 4’
• Ancestra, dir. Eliza McNitt, 8’
• Echo Hunter: A Memory Too Far, dir. Kavan the Kid, 23’
• Emergence, dir. Maddie Hong, 4’
• Exactly How I Remember It, dir. Holden Boyles, 4’
• Etherea, dir. Paul Trillo, 4’
• It Takes You, dir. Dayaan Ahmed, 10’
• Last Call Before A.G.I., dir. Matt Zien, 5’
• Signal, dir. Ray Jaffer, 1’

Tickets for the event are now on sale (admission will also be possible by reserving a seat with a festival pass or accreditation). The entire event will be conducted in English.