What Makes Us Human

In a perfect world, where emotions can be only felt through a technological device, there are some who still struggle against the system. Jack, a young man, accidentally discovers a puzzling truth behind a new update for the device, which makes it possible to record dreams. Helped by Sam, a skillful hacker, he'll embark on a dangerous mission to retrieve data that could change reality as they know it. Along the way he'll eventually meet with Judy, a proudy young woman searching for her place in the world. Together, they'll be faced with an impossible choice.

  • Lorenzo Bussone
    Director
    Incubo
  • Lorenzo Bussone
    Writer
    Incubo
  • Lorenzo Bussone
    Director Of Photography
    Incubo
  • Simone Dosio
    Editor, Colorist
    Incubo
  • Roberto Gentile
    Key Cast
    "Jack"
    Incubo
  • Rebecca Dosio
    Key Cast
    "Judy"
    Incubo
  • Lorenzo Melli
    Key Cast
    "Computer"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    quello che ci rende umani
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-fi, Adventure, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    28 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 8, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    0 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Too Short To Wait (21 Glocal Film Festival preview)
    Turin
    Italy
    February 5, 2022
    Italian Premiere
  • Trailers FilmFest 2022
    Milan
    Italy
    October 27, 2022
    Official Selection (short version)
  • Innuendo International Film Festival 2023
    Milan
    Italy
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Lorenzo Bussone

Born in Cirié (Turin, Italy) on January 30, 1999, he spent his early years moving between London and Mexico City, where he became passionate about cinema and English literature.
After obtaining his high school diploma, he attended the Turin Polytechnic for a year, coming into contact with the most advanced technologies in the field of robotics and automata. Here he has the opportunity to develop on his own the artificial intelligence that will appear in the first short film of the newly born Incubo Film Productions (his production company): "What makes us human"; an extended pitch trailer for a low-budget sci-fi film which premiered at the Too Short To Wait 2021 (21 Glocal Film Festival preview).
His first feature film, "Incubo", got the Special Mention Award at the Hermetic Film Festival 2020.
He is studying cinema at the University of Turin and is involved in making music videos and fashion films.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

ITALIANO:

Questo cortometraggio rappresenta il trailer esteso di "Quello che ci rende umani", ovvero un film che ancora non esiste ma di cui, in questa presentazione, ne sono messi in scena i temi principali e alcuni punti di svolti cruciali della trama. La nostra speranza è di poter attirare l'interesse del maggior numero possibile di persone che, come noi, possano convincersi della necessità di vedere al più presto questo film nelle sale.

Perché crediamo nella necessità di un film del genere?

Non soltanto perché esso affronterebbe temi di grandissima attualità e rilevanza, come: la questione della privacy, lo sfruttamento dei dati, la crisi ambientale e il problema della dipendenza dalle tecnologie; ma soprattutto perché potrebbe rivoluzionare l'ormai stanco genere della fantascienza (quella italiana in particolare). Difatti, a causa dell'ostinazione dei nostri cineasti di rifarsi ai modelli cinematografici hollywoodiani senza però poterne eguagliare le risorse quanto i cast stellari, si è assistito negli ultimi anni ad una saturazione nel panorama fantascientifico nostrano di prodotti mediocri, pallide imitazioni incapaci di competere nel mercato internazionale.

L'obiettivo di questo film è di unire l'azione pura dei grandi blockbuster d'oltreoceano (ovvero "l'intrattenimento", ma in chiave grottesca e demistificatoria) all'azione intellettuale dei film d'autore europei (ovvero "l'arte", con l'espressione di una visione originale senza compromessi); il tutto attraverso la presentazione di una storia avvincente ambientata in un mondo fittizio, che in realtà ricalca quello in cui viviamo oggi. Questa similarità permetterebbe oltretutto la creazione di un film di fantascienza senza l’impiego di dispendiosi effetti speciali.

ENGLISH:

This short film represents the extended trailer of "What Makes Us Human", a movie which doesn't exist yet but whose main themes and some crucial turning points are staged in this presentation. We hope to arouse interest in as many people as possible who, like us, will be convinced of the need to see this film in theaters as soon as possible.

Why do we believe in the need for such a film?

Not only because it would address issues of great relevance, such as: online privacy issues, exploitation of data, the environmental crisis and technology addiction; but most importantly because it could revolutionize the sci-fi genre, which finds itself in great need of new ideas (the Italian one in particular). In fact, due to the stubbornness of italian filmmakers, who just want to copy Hollywood movies without being able to match their resources as much as their cast of stars, a saturation has occurred in the Italian sci-fi scene of mediocre products unable to compete in the international market.

The goal of our movie would be to combine the action of Hollywood blockbusters (but in a grotesque and demystifying key) with the intellectual action of European auteur films (with the expression of an uncompromising original vision); all through the presentation of a compelling story set in a fictional world, which actually resemble the one we live in today. This similarity would also allow the creation of a sci-fi movie without the use of expensive special effects.