Description:

Current AI discourse often falls into polarized camps: critics who reject AI wholesale versus industry advocates emphasizing advancements. In the context of film and media culture, anxieties about AI’s impact on labor, authorship, ownership, and aesthetics stand in sharp contrast to promises of democratic access to cultural production and a new golden age for filmmaking. This gathering seeks to bridge these divides by bringing together expert voices from academia, the film industry, creative technologists, media advocacy, and curatorship, to collectively address a moment of profound transformation.

Two evening screenings at the Billy Wilder Theater join works presented by Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland’s preeminent cinematic event, with works by LA-based filmmakers and archives, fostering a transatlantic exchange in this global debate.

This event is a continuation of the Future of Reality Conference that took place at the 2025 Locarno Film Festival, in which AI emerged as a major theme. It is organized by Lucas Hagin, Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli, Evelyn Kreutzer, Kevin B. Lee, Maya Montañez Smukler, Nicole Uciedo and Emma Broggini, and in partnership between Locarno Film Festival, Swissnex in San Francisco, the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI).

Expected speakers:

• Paul Trillo (leading AI artist/filmmaker)
• Doris Berger (Vice President of Curatorial Affairs and curator of the “Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema” exhibit, Academy Museum)
• Fred Grinstein (leading industry figure/innovator)
• Shane Denson (Professor, Stanford University, digital media theorist and curator)
• Rebecca Baron (Faculty, Cal Arts, filmmaker and artist)
• Doug Goodwin (Faculty, Cal Arts, filmmaker and artist)
• Abby Sun (Program Director, International Documentary Association)
• Holly Willis (Professor of Cinematic Arts, Chair of the Media Arts + Practice Division, USC)
• Ranu Mukherjee (Visual artists and Dean of the School of Film/Video, Cal Arts, which is involved in the foundation of the new Chanel Center for Artists and Technology)
• Lauren Lee McCarthy (digital media artist)

Preliminary schedule:

Roundtable 1
Visions of AI Film Culture — examining how AI reshapes our imagination of cinema and its possibilities
Speakers: Steve Anderson (UCLA), Fred Grinstein (media executive/producer), Lauren Lee McCarthy (artist and programmer)
Moderator: Lucas Hagin
October 24, 2025 / 4–5:30pm
Darren Star Theater, UCLA

Evening Screening 1
Visions of the Future, Then and Now
A selection of archival and contemporary short films and video essays that explore the intersection of technology, AI and film history.
Q&A with filmmaker Allison de Fren (Occidental College), filmmakers and programmers Evelyn Kreutzer (USI) and Kevin B. Lee (USI), Professor Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli (UCLA) and Professor Amy Villarejo (UCLA).
7:30pm Billy Wilder Theater, Hammer Museum
See the full program and more info here: https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/visions-of-the-future-then-and-now-2025-10-24 

Roundtable 2
AI’s Impact on Film Culture — taking stock of current challenges and concerns, from labor conditions to creative practices
Speakers: Doug Goodwin (CalArts), Shane Denson (Stanford University), Abby Sun (International Documentary Association)
Moderator: Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli
October 25, 2025 / 2–3:30pm
Darren Star Theater, UCLA

Roundtable 3
Strategies for a Sustainable AI Future — exploring alternative models, collective strategies, and ethical frameworks for moving forward
Speakers: Ranu Mukherjee (CalArts), Holly Willis (University of Southern California), Nik Kleverov (Native Foreign)
Moderator: Evelyn Kreutzer
October 25, 2025 / 4–5:30pm
Darren Star Theater, UCLA

Evening Screening 2
REAL (Dir. Adele Tulli, 2024)
Q&A with filmmaker Adele Tulli, moderated by Kevin B. Lee.
7:30pm Billy Wilder Theater, Hammer Museum
More info here: https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/real-2025-10-25