MIFF 2019 - Day 17

Our Time Machine

Maleonn is a Chinese artist preparing a puppet theatre show, it's inspired by his father's declining health. He has alzheimers. Chronicling the work to get the play to the stage while also following the father's deterioration, it's a loving portrait of a son trying to create something as a testament to his father.

The Cordillera of Dreams

A film essay on the junta rule of Chile. It's personal meditation extended into looking at how little things have changed since Pinochet was arrested. I'm not sure it successfully links the images of the Andes to its subject, but it's still an informative and thoughtful work.

Machine

A slickly produced and really intriguing doc on AI and its current and future implications. Debunking much of the hype, and pulling things down to the ground, it looks at where we are and where we're headed. Things now are far more basic than some promoters would like you to think, but the future is still undefined and the consequences of strong AI or super intelligence are worth debating. It's neither optomist nor pessimist in its outlook, more of a thought provoker than a polemic. And a really nice way to end another year of MIFF.