Director's statement:
Art: Official Intelligence is both a dystopian drama, and a future that creeps closer day by day. It is a vivid image of the world as we are leading it to, dragged on a leash. A new generation of dreamers and artists, left to perish in the wake of the ‘perfection’ pandemic. We used to dream big and lose to humans with greater talents, and now our aspirations are crushed before they can even leave the nest, by the machines our mothers and fathers created. But there is hope within the unrelenting fire of true passion and love, a creation only achievable by humans.
I didn’t find this story in the media; I didn’t take these themes from experiences I saw in the news. I extracted the characters and events from my own fragmented memories, and pieced them together until the tale I wanted to tell was replicated in the puzzle. I have been a storyteller and a writer since I was a small child, and my father and I used to make mini films together all the time. I came up with the characters and plot line, while he held the camera (his iPhone). When I grew up I got my own camera, along with a computer and an electric excitement for my future. Around the same time, my dad, the computer scientist from MIT, began researching AI. He became obsessed with it. We were both incredibly passionate about our work, the only catch was my dream job didn’t impact his. I was angry and resentful for a long time. I put it all into this: the selfishness of our parents to leave us with this world crumbling at our feet. The only way to resist an imminent artificial intelligence takeover is to embrace the aspects of the human experience technology could never comprehend.
Unfortunately, in Serafina’s case, she doesn’t have that opportunity. In her world, the only way to follow her passion, dancing, is to sacrifice her self respect. The world she inhabits is devoid entirely of self respect, respect for others, and respect for the human race’s authentic intelligence. The world is dark, grey, run down. Mostly digitized. Her house mirrors the theatre in its lack of bright color and renovations. This is a drastic contrast to the beginning of the film, a pre-AI, pre-adolescence world. Her childhood world is happy and brightly colored. The dancers’ dresses are beautiful and pastel, while Serafina’s dress is faded and tattered, with only a faint resemblance to what came before her.
But her strength, her resilience, the imperishable fire of her compassion and artistry, will outlast the evil that rattles the foundation of her life.
