Sundance festival lineup unveiled

— Kristen Stewart is among several Hollywood stars heading to next month’s Sundance festival. But artificial intelligence — the subject of, and technology behind, several new films — could steal the show.

Among the lineup for Utah’s influential indie movie fest are a “generative” music film that plays differently on each viewing, two documentaries about loved ones using AI to communicate after death, and an interactive “digital griot” that will teach audiences how to vogue.

“One of the things that was striking to see, as we were going through these films and talking about them as a team, was how AI just kept popping up,” Sundance director of programming Kim Yutani told AFP.

“Whether it be in a documentary, whether it be influencing a documentary… that’s going to be a really interesting part of the festival this year.”

The schedule, announced Wednesday, comes at a time when the entertainment industry is struggling with the encroaching and polarizing impacts of AI — a key sticking point between studios and unions, and part of the reason behind this year’s devastating Hollywood strikes.

Among Sundance’s new offerings are “Eno,” which explores musician Brian Eno’s career and creative process, using a “generative engine” to mesh together near-infinite different versions of a film from hundreds of possible scenes.

The technology uses prompts and keywords to find and create associations between scenes, changing or reshuffling the lineup each night, just as a touring band might do at each new gig.

“It’s something new — a film that’s never the same twice,” said Eugene Hernandez, Sundance’s new festival director.

Documentary “Love Machina” follows a couple’s bid to make their love last forever, by transferring consciousness into an advanced humanoid named Bina48.

“Eternal You” looks at startups hoping to create AI avatars so that relatives can contact their loved ones after they have died — for a fee.

Meanwhile, “Being (the Digital Griot)” invites audiences to interact with and ask questions of an AI storyteller. The “griot” can debate, draw on poetry, and even teach viewers to dance.

“It will be a fun experience, and pretty enlightening too,” said Yutani.