Director Piotr Winiewicz is very aware of the inflammatory potential of discussions about AI within the film community. Still, he hopes his IDFA-opening feature debut “About a Hero” will rise above the discourse to inspire much-needed conversation about the future of technology concerning artistic practices and creativity.
“About a Hero” is a docufiction hybrid experiment that finds a starting point in Winiewicz and his team trying to develop an AI tool that can successfully mimic the work of renowned German director Werner Herzog. The script, adapted from the text generated by the resulting program, centers around Herzog’s investigation of the mysterious death of a factory worker in a small town. The fictional narrative is interspersed with interviews with artists, philosophers and scientists and features a cast that includes renowned Luxembourgish-German actress Vicky Krieps.
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“The intention was never to embrace AI as a tool in filmmaking,” Winiewicz tells Variety. “If anything, it was the opposite. The film came from a desire to express skepticism towards it. When I started working on the project in 2018 I wanted to work on an apolitical project, and AI has since then become a major political topic, especially in the film industry, so of course I was worried.”
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“I was more worried about the headlines than the reception of the film itself,” he clarifies. “This is not an AI-generated film and I think the whole premise is to see what happens when someone is trying to hijack your likeness.”
Of finding a subject in Herzog, Winiewicz says he was at first inspired by the German filmmaker saying that “a computer will not make a film as good as mine in 4,500 years” but found further reassurance in Herzog’s “extensive filmography and distinctive voice.”
“Werner is an object in the film, he’s not a subject. The idea was never to challenge Werner. It would be a crazy idea to challenge one of the greatest filmmakers,” he says.
“The film wasn’t specifically about Herzog, either, but a timeless sense of technophobia and superiority,” adds the director, who is secretive about his interactions with Herzog, but guarantees the filmmaker has already seen the film and approved of it. “We had a private screening and private conversations. I was nervous about whether I crossed any boundaries and I felt I didn’t. To him, the premise was really clear.”
Of course, having Herzog’s blessing was one of the team’s great preoccupations, but Winiewicz reiterates his main priority was fostering an environment where his contributors could have open conversations about the creative process at hand and the tricky issues deriving from its themes.
“The set, and the whole pre-production stage, was filled with conversations about the lines between making a film about AI and using AI as a tool. We spoke with actors, crews, photographers… We were discussing it all the time. We also had lengthy discussions with lawyers about the potential legal implications of the film even though the issues were largely ethical.”
Winiewicz says that, while he is a romantic when it comes to filmmaking, the industry needs to understand that change is unavoidable and be willing to engage in meaningful conversations about how to approach it ethically and creatively. “People in film are allergic to acronyms, TV, VR, AI… It all sounds like bad science fiction novels, it doesn’t fit the romantic vocabulary of arthouse filmmaking. But at the end of the day, film is an industry that has always adapted to technology.”
One of Winiewicz’s great fears, however, was timing. “About a Hero” has its world premiere at IDFA only a week after Trump’s election in the U.S., an event that has reminded the director of the power of speaking about the dangers of misinformation.
“I went to bed with Kamala in my head and woke up with Trump, which was horrible,” he says. “I’m pessimistic by nature but I think it’s a good time for this film because it explicitly showcases the consequences of misinformation and disinformation. AI takes ages to verify, it requires forensic architecture and so many resources to break down one picture. People in small bedrooms can create a terrifying impact in the world.”
Still, Winiewicz is thrilled to be premiering the film at IDFA, which he calls an “excellent platform for conversation.” “I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a wide commercial release and pushing the film down people’s throats without dialogue. This is a film meant to be talked about.”
