AI FILM FESTIVAL TAKING PLACE AT SUPERBLUE

teamLab, Universe of Water Particles, Transcending Boundaries, 2017. Sound: Hideaki Takahashi. Installation view of Every Wall is a Door, Superblue Miami, 2021. Sound: Hideaki Takahashi.
Credit: © teamLab, Courtesy of Pace Gallery.

Is artificial intelligence the future of creativity? A new film festival hosted in Miami says yes.

Generative AI, machine learning, and similar technologies being implemented in creative industries is a very controversial topic. Software such as Midjourney and ChatGPT, trained on imagery taken (some say stolen) from the internet, are causing concerns for writers, artists, and even actors. Two Hollywood unions, SAG and WGA, are currently on strike seeking to win protections against AI-generated content replacing human laborers.

And yet, there are some artists who want to make AI work for them. “AI has allowed me to write my vision proficiently and specifically,” Haiiileen, an Allapattah based installation artist and founder of the non-profit artist residency program Rainbow Oasiiis, says. “We’re going to see a boom of weird and wonderful ideation coming out of AI.”

The artist, an ambassador for Google’s generative AI program Bard, feels the ability to translate her thoughts directly into an AI and instantly come up with a completed work, represents the future of creativity. Next month, she’ll be able to prove her point with the help of Superblue, the massive immersive art center in Allapattah.

Taking place on August 12, the inaugural Chroma Art Film Festival will feature AI-generated movies screening across the Superblue complex, which is housed in a former warehouse across the street from the Rubell Museum. The festival, the first initiative in a partnership between Superblue and Rainbow Oasiiis called Full Spectrum, will feature over 150 films screened in uniquely-designed theater spaces.

The structure of the festival isn’t a typical sit-down-and-watch-a-movie experience either. In keeping with Superblue’s “experiential” art vision, visitors will be given special headphones which the organizers say will allow them to seamlessly move between the spaces and experience the films without audio crossover.

According to Shantelle Rodriguez of Superblue, the festival serves as a way for the gallery to extend its community outreach. The partnership was forged during the COVID-19 pandemic when many artists in Allapattah lost their studio spaces.

Es Devlin, Forest of Us, 2021.Installation view of Every Wall is a Door, Superblue Miami, 2021. Photo credit: Andrea Mora.

““It was natural for Superblue to support the residency,” Rodriguez says. “It’s a cultural resource for the community.”

The festival is also being supported by a community grant from Miami-Dade County, and the organizers say they’re looking for an additional $20,000 in funding for future projects. Submissions closed on July 23, and the festival fielded contenders from around the world. The selection includes AI-generated films as well as animation, experimental shorts, and virtual reality works.

“I love looking at weird sh*t all day every day, and I am so thankful that we have a space where we can look at weird sh*t,” Haiiileen says. “They’re bringing in their own perspective and weirdness to the equation that allows us to really dive in.”

While Haiiileen’s enthusiasm for AI is real, she also believes artists need to accept the futility of trying to fight the revolutionary consequences of machine-generated art and embrace the technology as a natural progression of human creativity.

“Regardless of whether we want it or not, it’s here.”

WHAT: Chroma Art Film Festival

WHEN: 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, August 12

WHERE: Superblue, 1101 NW 23rd St., Miami

COST: $50 for access to general screenings and filmmaker Q&A sessions; $100 for VIP access which includes open bar, access to all screenings, and priority registration for future events; $250 for “Founder” tickets which include VIP tier and access to artist meet-and-greets and Superblue gallery space. Tickets available at Eventbrite.com.

INFORMATION: chromaartfilmfestival.org

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