What does it mean to be conscious in a world that is becoming increasingly artificially intelligent? Can machines really see? Based on an interview with a professor in artificial intelligence, this short experimental documentary uses analog techniques to explore the human tendency to anthropomorphise simple drawings, and how we might do the same to machines.

Emily Downe’s most recent short film, The Redness of Red, was produced in collaboration with the Wellcome Collection in London. The project was pitched and screened in competition, appealing to the project brief set by the Wellcome Collection and winning two first prize awards for both the project pitch as well as the complete and screened film at the end of production. As a documentary, the film takes on the ambitious task of approaching the current issue of artificial intelligence in relation to consciousness. The film asks the audience to consider whether machines can be conscious; can they really see? Based on an interview with a professor in A.I., this experimental documentary uses frame by frame animation to provoke thought about our human tendency to anthropomorphise shapes and lines, and how we might do the same to machines as they become more and more life-like.

The director worked with a composer to create an instrumental, poetic atmosphere, which is combined with the colours and textures of hand drawn animation to evoke the richness of conscious experience.