Storytellers and creators are actively delving into the possibilities of AI – be for boosting the efficiency of production, experimenting with AI-generated storytelling and/or visuals, or finding new ways where AI and stories can challenge traditional films. The range of perspectives within this domain is quite varied, and also the possibilities offered. As more and more creators come up with AI films, festivals, competitions or platforms start to gain popularity.
And we have found the AI Film Festival Dubai – organised by Expo City Dubai– a new competition initiative for AI Films. We have discussed with the organisers about their visions related to the industry, changes it will bring, but also how they see AI and films in the future…. and of course about the AI Film Festival 🙂 Please find below our interview with Magd Zoorob, Senior Vice President – Future Technologies at Expo City Dubai, and keep in mind that the winner will be announced end of this month.
TVA: Please share with us the story that led to the creation of the AIFF
Expo City Dubai: Expo City Dubai is an innovation-driven, people-centric city of the future. We are exploring ways to put humanity at the centre of technological innovation and identified the film industry as an area where AI is already having an impact. With the Artificial Intelligence Film Festival, we are uniting creatives and technologists to discover the potential of AI technology in enhancing creative storytelling. As we work to create the city of the future, AIFF establishes Expo City as the epicentre of AI innovation in the region, a future-focused community and a global platform for collaboration on big ideas.
TVA: How is the AI Film Festival in Dubai different from other AI-related events?Expo City Dubai: Expo City’s AIFF is focused on the human as the creator who is supported by AI tools. Recognising that AI can support the understanding, emotional depth and imagination that artists exclusively possess, the technology opens the door to enthusiasts who may have previously found the filmmaking industry inaccessible. While other AI events might focus solely on the development of technology or research, AIFF bridges the gap between AI advancements and their practical application in the film industry, offering a unique platform where technology meets creative storytelling.
TVA: Can you share some insights into the selection process for films to be featured at the AI Film Festival?Expo City Dubai: The selection process for the films as part of AIFF’s global competition was meticulous. We set out the requirements for submitters to use AI in text, sound and visual elements, then our international expert panel of 12 judges evaluated the entries considering criteria of film production quality, narrative clarity, innovative use of AI, and the integration of AI technologies. The top 10 films that ranked highest in these aspects were shortlisted for the next phase of AIFF.
TVA: What specific advancements or innovations in AI can attendees expect to see showcased at the festival?Expo City Dubai: Since its launch in September 2023, AIFF has held online talks with experts and pioneers on various topics such as the use of AI applications in scriptwriting, visual effects, animation, and even the creation of entirely new storytelling formats. We continue to hold these talks and the recordings can be viewed on Expo City’s dedicated online platform, EXSTREAMS.
TVA : Will there be any opportunities for attendees to engage with AI technologies through interactive exhibits or demonstrations?Expo City Dubai: Throughout AIFF, visitors have had the opportunity to learn hands-on from experts who have demonstrated the many different applications of AI in filmmaking and other industries and, in the future, we’re looking to offer even more experiences that test the latest technologies and apply this knowledge to create films and tell stories.
TVA: Can you provide examples of how AI technology is integrated into the overall experience of the festival, from screenings to interactive exhibits?Expo City Dubai: AI technology is seamlessly integrated into the festival experience, from screenings where AI-generated content is showcased, to interactive sessions where attendees can learn to use the latest AI tools. AI also plays a role in the evaluation process for the global competition, with our AI Choice Award category using advanced AI models to assess films and choose the winner.
TVA: What are the potential risks and challenges associated with AI in film production, distribution, and consumption?Expo City Dubai: This is one of the most important topics of discussion at AIFF. While AI brings immense creative possibilities, it also raises concerns related to bias, privacy and job displacement. The festival provides a platform to address these issues and explore ethical AI in filmmaking. Expo City, as a people-centric city of the future, continues to look for ways to put the human at the centre of the innovation process, ensuring that technology can support human development in the best way possible.
TVA: What is the difference between promoting and organising a Classic film festival and an AI film festival?Expo City Dubai: Traditional film festivals celebrate human creativity and cinematography, while AIFF also focuses on the synergy between human talent and AI technology. It showcases how AI is becoming an integral part of the filmmaking process, creating new opportunities in storytelling and creative expression. It also showcases how technology has opened up the world of filmmaking. Using readily available and cost-effective AI tools, anyone with a story to tell can create a short film to express and deliver their vision.
TVA: We saw that you include workshops or training sessions aimed at educating attendees on the practical applications of AI, what was the response of the community and what needs to be developed further in the future?Expo City Dubai: The AIFF sessions have been a great success, attracting significant participation and also available to an even wider audience who can view on-demand on our dedicated platform, EXSTREAMS. The topics covered included AI-assisted scriptwriting, text-to-image and text-to-video creation and other practical applications of AI tools – techniques that participants could use to help create their own film to submit to AIFF’s global competition. In the future, we will explore topics such as the use of AI in social media and ethical uses of AI.
TVA: Can you provide information on any AI-themed competitions or awards that will be held during the festival?Expo City Dubai: The AIFF’s global competition received more than 500 submissions from 89 countries, demonstrating its wide appeal. These films compete for four awards categories: Best Film Award, Best Director Award, Audience Choice Award, and the AI Choice Award, recognising excellence in filmmaking and the creative use of AI in the industry. The winners will be announced at the in-person awards ceremony on 29 February at Expo City Dubai, where they will be celebrated for their outstanding contributions to the world of AI-powered filmmaking.
TVA: How does the AI Film Festival aim to foster networking and collaboration opportunities for AI creatives, professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts?Expo City Dubai: AIFF fosters networking and collaboration by bringing together AI creatives, professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts from across the globe. Our interactive sessions, workshops, and panel discussions provide a forum for exchanging ideas, forging partnerships, and advancing the dialogue around AI and film. The AIFF enhances Expo City Dubai’s position as a global technology pioneer and testbed for new technologies.
TVA: Is there a specific theme or focus for this year’s AI Film Festival in Dubai, and how does it relate to the advancements in the AI industry globally?Expo City Dubai: The inaugural AIFF focuses on the human and explores the different ways that AI technology supports our creativity and emotional expression. The festival serves as a showcase for the latest developments, offering a platform for filmmakers and AI experts to showcase their work and discuss how AI is reshaping the future of storytelling.
TVA: How challenging is it to find sponsors and secure funding for an AI-focused festival compared to traditional film festivals?Expo City Dubai: Securing sponsors for an AI-focused festival can be challenging, but it’s also an opportunity to align with forward-thinking organisations that recognise the transformative potential of AI. With the support of the Dubai Film and TV Commission, Women in AI UAE and the SAE Institute, we have been able to bring together a group of like-minded institutions who joined us on the journey of exploring the convergence of technology and creativity. We are also thankful to G42 who sponsored the AI Choice Award category and supported with the development of the AI model which is used to evaluate the films. We continue to work closely with partners who share our vision and understand the importance of AI in the creative landscape, enhancing Expo City’s position as a global technology pioneer and testbed for new technologies.
TVA : What strategies do you employ to attract potential sponsors who may be hesitant to invest in an AI-oriented event?Expo City Dubai: Expo City Dubai builds on the legacy of Expo 2020 Dubai and is known as a global platform for collaboration on big ideas. The launch of AIFF attracted significant interest from potential sponsors looking to the future of technology and artificial intelligence. Of course, we emphasise the festival’s global reach and the unique exposure it offers, showcasing the potential for innovation and creativity and the opportunity to engage with a diverse, tech-savvy audience.
TVA: With the ongoing global discussions about ethical implications and biases in AI, how do you ensure the responsible and inclusive representation of AI-related content in the festival?Expo City Dubai: We are committed to addressing ethical implications and biases in AI and we dedicated an entire session as part of the festival to explore this topic and foster healthy debate around it. As part of the rules for AIFF’s global competition and the selection process, we ensured that the films meet high ethical standards and promote diverse perspectives.
TVA: At the festival you have this section: Best Film Award /Best Director Award/Audience Choice Award/AI Choice Award. Please tell us more about AI Choice Award.Expo City Dubai: The AI Choice Award is a distinctive category sponsored by G42 and determined by Expo City‘s proprietary AI model. This model assesses films using the latest AI technologies, evaluating elements such as audio, images, scenes, and storyline. It showcases how AI can be used not only to create but also to evaluate films, providing a fresh perspective on filmmaking excellence.
SHORT QUESTION
TVA: If the Artificial Intelligence evaluates the movie that the AI created, who takes credit for the outcome – the AI or the programmer who created the AI?Expo City Dubai: As part of the global competition, Expo City Dubai created an AI tool that can evaluate films based on specific criteria and will determine the winner of the AI Choice Award. The tool architecture, AI agent workflow, prompting and design is a testament to the development teams’ skills in building a capable AI tool. It’s a collaborative effort where the AI executes based on its design, but the essential ingredient is the creativity of the development team in using AI to enable a novel concept. This is one of the main messages of AIFF as a whole – AI is a technological tool that can be used for many applications, but it would not be possible without humans. Expo City places people at the centre of innovation, giving them the tools they need to continue innovating and developing, using AI as a tool to eliminate non-value work and free up precious time.
TVA: If the AI evaluates the movie that the AI chose, does it ever have a moment of existential crisis, pondering the eternal question of which came first?Expo City Dubai: Questions of existence and origins are believed to be unique to human thought and consciousness, and AI, which operates based on algorithms and data and is devoid of consciousness or self-awareness, doesn’t experience existential crises or ponder philosophical questions. At Expo City, we recognise that AI can only support the understanding, emotional depth and imagination that human artists exclusively possess. The films submitted for AIFF were made using AI tools, but they all have a human creator behind them to come up with the story and have the vision of how to tell it.
AI models are diverse and varied, some tailored to solve specific challenges others are multi-modal. An AI tool to assist in generating content could be trained and aligned to achieve different targets to tools that evaluate content. AI tools can be prompted or trained to achieve different goals.
TVA.. If AI could ask one question to the organisers of the AI film festival, what kind of query would it pose?Expo City Dubai: We posed this question to a well-known AI model and it said that it might inquire about the future of AI in filmmaking and how the festival plans to evolve to showcase even more advanced AI applications in the years to come. It said that AI would likely be interested in the festival’s role in shaping the future of AI-driven creativity.
TVA. If artificial intelligence had to choose to go to 5 AI festivals around the world, what festivals would it want to attend?Expo City Dubai: In line with our human-centric approach to technological innovation, we believe that AI exists not to choose which festivals or events it wants to attend itself, but to support humans in choosing the right ones based on specific parameters or interests programmed into it by its human creators. In the city of the future, we envision technology as empowering people, automating ‘non-value’ work and giving back precious time that can used more productively and creatively. To explore these ideas further, we invite everyone to attend AIFF as the region’s premier event and celebrate the convergence of cinema and AI, underlining the symbiotic relationship between human creativity and technology.
For more information about the Artificial Intelligence Film Festival, please visit the AIFF website.
| Dr Magd Zoroob Senior Vice President – Future Technologies, Expo City Dubai |
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| As Senior Vice President – Future Technologies at Expo City Dubai, Dr Zoroob is responsible for leading the city’s research and development vision and strategy for technology and innovation. Dr Zoroob also focuses on developing technological tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), streaming technologies and machine learning to support Expo City as a human-centric, innovation-driven city of the future. An entrepreneur and technology leader with more than 20 years’ experience in scaling technology businesses from early concept stage to mass production, including related commercialisation strategies, Dr Zoroob has worked on virtual experiences, Internet of Things (IoT), electronics, photonics, mathematical modelling and cloud software solutions. He has provided consultancy and advisory services for major technology projects and end-to-end solutions for virtual platforms and led the development of the ‘Virtual Expo’ for Expo 2020 Dubai. Dr Zoroob is an inventor with more than 30 granted patent families in areas including photonics, lighting, LEDs and IoT and has co-founded two technology companies in the UK. He was also a member of the Borad of Advisors to the IBM Watson IoT Platform. Dr Zoroob holds a PhD in microelectronics and a Bachelor of Engineering in electronics engineering from the University of Southampton, UK. |
About Expo City Dubai
• An inclusive innovation-driven, people-centric city of the future and one of five hubs on the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, Expo City Dubai is committed to maximising its positive social, environmental and economic impact
o Designed as a blueprint for sustainable urban living, its roadmap to achieving net zero by 2050 and its broader decarbonisation targets raise the bar on responsible urban development
o Its ecosystem supports cross-sector collaboration and provides a springboard for businesses of all sizes to scale and grow, enhancing Dubai’s position as a global centre of trade and reinforcing the UAE’s development and diversification ambitions
o Its residential communities redefine urban living, exemplifying best practice in innovative, environment-friendly design with a focus on wellbeing and happiness
o An incubator for innovation, it is a testbed for solutions and a platform for ground-breaking ideas that benefit both people and the planet
o Packed with educational, cultural and entertainment offerings and a go-to destination for globally significant events, it celebrates human creativity and ingenuity and inspires future generations
• The legacy of Expo 2020 Dubai, Expo City Dubai connects businesses, government, organisations, educational institutions, residents and visitors, working together to drive progress and create a better, more equitable, more sustainable future for all