AI supply-chain documentary pitched at Taiwan Creative Content Fest
Jannes Callens' 'The Technological Sublime' has shot its opening scenes and is seeking finishing finance, with Belgium's VRT already on board.
Jannes Callens' documentary 'The Technological Sublime', which follows the physical supply chain behind artificial intelligence, is being presented at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taipei, according to Variety. The market runs Nov. 6-9 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.
The film traces that chain from quartz mines in the Appalachians to chip plants in Taiwan, lithium fields in Chile, undersea cables and click-workers in Kenya. Its first scenes have already been shot, and the team is waiting to secure the rest of its financing.
Belgian broadcaster VRT has joined the project, and talks are underway with other European broadcasters. The film is a co-production between Brussels-based Visualantics and Cobra Films, Paris-based Tag Film and Taipei-based Reel Asia Pictures.
Steven Dhoedt is a delegate producer on the project, and James Chia-Hao Hsu of Reel Asia Pictures is its Taiwan partner.
Previous work
Callens' earlier documentary 'Dor (Longing)', about a young man returning to Romania to become a shepherd, won the Best Belgian Film award at the Brussels Independent Film Festival and was selected for Visions du Réel. Dhoedt's early documentary 'Inside the Metaverse' (2010) examined the buzz around virtual worlds years before Facebook rebranded as Meta.
Quick answers
What is 'The Technological Sublime' about?
It is a documentary tracing AI's physical supply chain, from quartz mines in the Appalachians to chip plants in Taiwan, lithium fields in Chile, undersea cables and click-workers in Kenya.
Has the film been completed?
No. Its first scenes have been shot, and the team is waiting to secure the rest of its financing.
Who is producing the documentary?
It is a co-production between Visualantics and Cobra Films, Tag Film and Reel Asia Pictures, with Steven Dhoedt as delegate producer and VRT among the broadcasters on board.