11-7-2024 (SEOUL) The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) has embraced artificial intelligence (AI) as a central theme for its 28th edition. This decision marks a significant milestone, as BiFan becomes the first Korean film festival to acknowledge and explore the burgeoning role of AI in cinema.
The festival’s director, Shin Chul, envisions AI as a democratising force in filmmaking. “Filmmaking will cease to be a battle of cash, it will only be one of creative challenges,” Shin remarked at the BiFan+ opening ceremony. His optimism stems from the belief that AI could level the playing field, allowing creators to realise their visions without the traditional constraints of big budgets.
BiFan’s embrace of AI is comprehensive. The festival has introduced Korea’s first AI short-film competition, screened the AI-generated Japanese animation “Who Said Death is Beautiful?”, and organised a three-day AI International Conference. Perhaps most intriguingly, BiFan commissioned an AI-generated “Identity Film” to serve as this year’s festival trailer, posing the provocative question: “AI, who are you?”
However, this enthusiastic adoption of AI technology has not been without controversy. Many in the industry remain cautious or outright reject the use of AI in filmmaking, citing concerns ranging from job security to copyright infringement and content quality.
Sten-Kristian Saluveer, founder and CEO of Storytek and head of programming at Cannes Next, provided valuable insights at the AI International Conference. He likened the current perception of AI to ice cream – exciting and novel, but potentially uncontrollable. Saluveer highlighted how AI has arrived at a particularly sensitive time for the content creation industry, which he describes as a “polycrisis” stemming from the pandemic, the rise of global streaming platforms, and recent Hollywood labour disputes.
While AI offers potential solutions to some of these challenges, particularly in cost-cutting, it also raises concerns about job displacement. Technicians and creatives alike fear for their livelihoods as AI’s capabilities in content creation rapidly expand.
Yet, proponents argue that AI could democratise filmmaking, much like the advent of digital video technology did. By reducing costs and technical barriers, AI could potentially open doors for creators who might otherwise lack access to resources.
The quality and originality of AI-generated content remain points of contention. While current AI-generated works are impressive in their novelty, they often struggle to fully realise the intentions of their human prompters. The AI’s tendency to heavily borrow from existing content raises questions about the true extent of human creativity in these collaborations.
