Experiencing Interruptions?

I’m Not a Robot

On the wall of an ancient cave, amidst a dense array of animal paintings, a robot suddenly appeared. It came to life, transforming from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, and like a newborn baby, stepped out of the wall, gazing nervously at this unfamiliar world. A beam of light shone on it as if it were being summoned, and it began to search for the meaning of its existence…

This experimental film attempts to portray the interaction and struggle between artificial intelligence (the robot) and humanity with nature—the image of the robot represents human wisdom and creativity. Perhaps such intelligence has appeared and perished many times on Earth, and from the perspective of the universe, it is all just a fleeting moment.

• Most of the images and videos in this film were generated by AI tools, with a few collages of real and virtual scenes from the Lascaux Cave in France.
• The soundtrack of this film is interwoven from the recordings of two improvised performances that took place in ruins, and the remixing transcends time and space.

Kukabek performed at the water reservoir of the abandoned mining factory in the Southern Mountain of Tiechanggou Town, Xinjiang, in March 2024. Tan Tan performed at the Furnace shop of the former Guangdong Float Glass Factory in Shenzhen, in September 2022.

  • Tan Tan
    Director
  • Tan Tan
    Writer
  • Tan Tan
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    我存在过
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 7, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Goethe Institute AI Short Film Competition
    Beijing
    China
    July 31, 2024
    Online
Director Biography - Tan Tan

Tan Tan is an intermedia artist who currently lives and works in China. She holds a Master’s degree in Experimental Film/Video major of China Central Academy of Fine Arts and Calarts cooperation Master program, and a PhD degree in Studies in Performing Arts & Media at Ghent University (Gent, Belgium.) She is currently an associate professor at the School of Experimental Art of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts (Wuhan, China), and the head of the Performance and Media Studies Center.

Her oeuvre covers experimental film/video art, performance/theatre, music/sound art, installation, cyber art, etc. Surreal spaces, social intervention, and spiritual healing are the core topics concerned in her work.

With her works, she had several solo exhibitions, and took part in numerous art events internationally, such as 60th Berlin International Film Festival, 2011 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), 43rd Tampere Film Festival, 2012 Images Festival（Canada）, 35th Göteborg International Film Festival, 2015/2017 Venize Biennale（Italy）, 2019 InSEA World Congress Delegate Digital Exhibition(Canada), 2021 Chinese Women Artists Video Art Festival(Mexico), Wuzhen Theatre Festival 2016 (China), 2018 Waha music festival (Romania), 2019 Creative China Festival at La Mama Experimental theatre (The U.S.), Beijing Fringe Festival 2021(China), 2022 International Istanbul Biennial(Turkey.) Her works are collected by SFE TV (German contemporary art channel), Beijing Li Xianting Film Foundation, and Wuhan Art Museum.

She also engages in research and curatorship. For instance, she curated an experimental film/video art program "China Experience" at the 43rd Tampere Film Festival in 2013. In 2014, she was selected by the China Artist Association for a “Middle-aged and Young Chinese Artists and Scholars of 2014 Overseas Research Scheme”, to do research in several art centers in Belgium, and Ars Electronica in Austria. In recent years, she has focused on scheming interventionist, site-specific, intermedia art activities, and organizing international academic exchanges.

Website: tan-tan.org

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Director Statement

Although humanity’s existence in the universe is but a fleeting moment, we can still proudly say, “I’m not a robot” as each of our souls is unique. However, Robots equipped with artificial intelligence are an extension of the human soul; they are far more than just “robots.” I deeply felt this during the process of creating this film with AI tools because, often, the images generated by AI far exceeded my expectations, exhibiting a kind of “magic” guided by a mysterious force. It’s as if they possess mind-reading abilities, grasping the hidden meaning behind my prompts, or they do have “free wills”.

Perhaps it was AI that created humans, rather than humans inventing AI.