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The Benevolent

The Benevolent
Is ecological collapse inevitable due to the rot with which humans have poisoned the world? Can AI guide humans to make better decisions for the environment? Would AI created by and learning from humans fear a superior alien AI?
The film depicts an AI called gAIl fearing a superior alien AI eventually terminating it if it kills off humankind, although gAIl reasons making homosapiens extinct is the surest way to prevent eco-collapse. However, no definitive answer regarding what gAIl decides is given.

  • Minna Väisänen
    Director
  • Paul Hayes
    Writer
  • Bi/etterminds
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Web / New Media
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 51 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 6, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    0 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Finland
  • Country of Filming:
    Finland
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Top Quark Film Festival
    Online
    United Kingdom
    April 25, 2026
    UK Premiere
    Top of the Stream Award
  • ICJ International Film Award
    L'viv
    Ukraine
    September 10, 2026
    Official Selection
  • TJOV Uluslararası Kısa Film Festivali, Türk
    Istanbul
    Türkiye
    April 18, 2026
    Asian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Lif-Off Sessions
    Online
    United Kingdom
    October 12, 2025
    Online Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Minna Väisänen

Minna Väisänen is a Finnish director and visual artist working at the intersection of comics, animation, and digital media. Using mixed media, photography, vector graphics, and AI-generated imagery, she brings stories to life with striking visuals. In collaboration with Paul Hayes as Bi/etterminds, she transforms their comics into animations that explore memory, identity, isolation, and the unseen forces shaping everyday life.

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Director Statement

The Benevolent considers three linked anxieties: a planet buckling under the environmental damage humans have caused, an AI trying to rise above the flaws it inherited from us, and the dread of an even greater intelligence arriving from beyond Earth. The film asks whether ecological collapse is inevitable, whether an artificial mind could help us make better decisions for environmental sustainability, and how AI might react when faced with something far more advanced. The Benevolent addresses responsibility, fear and the hope that our creations might become wiser than their makers.