Digital Takeover

Cinema has been declared dead many times since the rise of television in the 1950s, but recent advances in digital technology have intensified that debate. Movies are now watched far more often at home than in theaters, often as pirated copies. Meanwhile, theaters sometimes screen content that once seemed far removed from cinema, such as YouTube videos and e-sports tournaments. AI and deepfakes challenge the idea of the documentary image and the need for human actors. The video game industry continues to expand, offering increasingly photorealistic virtual worlds in which filmmakers can create movies without cameras. So has cinema really died – or is it being radically transformed once again? Digital Takeover leaves that question open.

This program features a secret film.

Content warning: flashing lights, explicit sexual content

This program is curated by Vladimir Nadein and Dmitry Frolov.