The Technological Human

This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Tromsø International Film Festival. Tromsø Film Society has been a part of tiff since the beginning, and we are proud to contribute to this year’s edition with a special program. The traditional way to mark such an occasion would be to look back at what has been, but although tiff pays heed to tradition, we don’t want to get stuck in it. So, in the spirit of the festival, we have taken a look at what may come – through science fiction films. From the earliest days of cinema, looking into the future through the prism of contemporary society has been widespread. The span of sci-fi film is vast in this regard, so this program focuses on films that reflect on humanity and its relations to new technology.

As early as 1895, the Lumière Brothers made the mechanical butcher, a film about an automated machine making meat products from living livestock. Georges Méliès’ short silent film a trip to the moon came a few years later. Films such as these reflected the optimistic atmosphere of their societies: Technological advancement made for economic growth and major improvements of living conditions. This positive tone started to change during the 1920s and 1930s as the world moved from crisis to crisis, climaxing with the Second World War. After the war, many films reflected the fears of the advent of a nuclear age. For the first time in history, humanity had the means to destroy not only itself, but the entire world.

The science fiction genre matured throughout the 1960s’, applying a more philosophical perspective. Space travel had proved possible, and the computer technology was advancing, and classics such as 2001: a space odyssey contemplate the role of humans in the universe. The 1970’s brought future environmental issues onto the agenda, of which the oldest film in this program – Douglas Trumbull’s silent running – is a pioneer example.

In 1965, the first personal computer was introduced. Cutting-edge technology became part of everyday life in the 1970s, and from the 1980s and onwards we were able to connect through the Internet. These developments, and new emerging fields of science such as cybernetics, were explored in a range of films, exemplified in this program by Mamoru Oshii’s animation film ghost in the shell. Science fiction also started imagining humans being integrated with machines, a prediction which has become more of a reality through the rise of social media and computer gaming. Today, personal technology has become so available that you can make new inventions in your garage, as in our two contemporary films lfo: the movie and primer.

Odd-Arild Knutsen and Espen Olaisen

President and Director of Programming Tromsø Film Society

FLUKT I VERDENSROMMET

SILENT RUNNING

USA 1972 DIRECTOR: Douglas Trumbull SCREENPLAY: Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, Steven Bocho CINEMATOGRAPHY: Charles F. Wheeler CAST: Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint RUNNING TIME: 1h 29m PRODUCER: Michael Gruskoff, Douglas Trumbull

i flukt i verdensrommet befinner vi oss i en fjern framtid hvor jaget etter ny teknologi har gjort mennesket helt fremmed for naturen. All vegetasjon på jorda er utryddet – det lille som er igjen, er lagret i beholdere festet til romskip som går i bane rundt Saturn. En dag får mannskapet som vedlikeholder de siste gjenværende restene ordre om å destruere dem. Botanikeren Freeman Lowell nekter å lystre, og tar livet av kollegene sine før han rømmer med sin beholder, langt ut i verdensrommet.

Selv om den til dels er blitt glemt etter utgivelsen i 1972, er og blir silent running en milepæl i sin sjanger, med et budskap som er minst like relevant i dag. Douglas Trumbull fikk jobben med å regissere filmen etter å ha gjort seg bemerket med spesialeffektene i filmer som 2001: en romodyssé og andromeda-trusselen.

In a distant future, mankind has embraced new technology to such a degree that they have alienated themselves from nature. All vegetation on Earth is exterminated, and what is left is stored in huge pods, attached to space ships orbiting Saturn. One day the small crew maintaining the pods are ordered to destroy the last remaining terrestrial plant life. But the crew’s botanist Freeman Lowell refuses to follow order: He kills his colleagues, and runs away with the pods, deep into space.

Douglas Trumbull was picked to direct this film after having had success as a special effects artist on films such as 2001: a space odyssey and andromeda strain. Although somewhat forgotten since its release, silent running remains a milestone, with a message that is perhaps even more important today.

REGISSØREN

Douglas Trumbull (f. 1942) jobbet som illustratør i et studio da Stanley Kubrick hyret ham inn til produksjonen av 2001: EN ROMODYSSÉ. Det ble starten på Trumbulls videre karriere innen spesialeffekter og regi. Han er nominert til tre Oscar-priser, blant annet for sine spesialeffekter i BLADE RUNNER.

THE DIRECTOR

Douglas Trumbull (b. 1942) worked as an illustrator and airbrush artist when Stanley Kubrick hired him for the production of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Trumbull later became a leading visual effects artist and a director. His visual effects work has earned him three Academy Awards’ nominations, one of them for BLADE RUNNER.

FILMOGRAPHY (UTVALG/SELECTION):

1978 NIGHT OF DREAMS (SHORT) 1983 PROSJEKT BRAINSTORM / BRAINSTORM 1983 NEW MAGIC (SHORT) 1993 IN SEARCH OF THE OBELISK 1996 THEATRE OF TIME (SHORT) 2011 GOLDEN EYES (SHORT)

GHOST IN THE SHELL

KÔKAKU KIDÔTAI

JAPAN 1995 DIRECTOR: Mamoru Oshii SCREENPLAY: Kazunori Itô CINEMATOGRAPHY: Hisao Shirai CAST: Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ôtsuka, Iemasa Kayumi, Kôishi Yamadera, Tamio Ôki (stemmer) RUNNING TIME: 1h 23m PRODUCER: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Ken Iyadomi, Ken Matsumuto, Yoshimasa Mizou, Shigeru Watanabe

Året er 2029. Menneskeheten er forbundet i et elektronisk nettverk der kommunikasjon skjer gjennom kybernetiske kropper eller «skall». En hacker blir mistenkt for å ha misbrukt nettverket til å kontrollere menneskers sinn og ødelegge deres hukommelse. Nå jaktes han av en etterforskningsgruppe kalt Sektor Ni, ledet av Motoko Kusanagi, som selv er en kyborg – altså både menneske og maskin – med enorme krefter. Men i jakten på den listige hackeren tvinges Kusanagi etter hvert til å stille spørsmål ved sin egen eksistens: Er hun ekte, eller bare konstruert? Finnes en essens gjemt bak hennes kybernetiske skall?

ghost in the shell er en banebrytende animert science fiction-film som har inspirert en rekke senere filmskapere. Den hører til sjangeren cyberpunk, som hadde sin storhetstid på 1980-tallet, og som ofte kombinerer stor visuell oppfinnsomhet med kritikk av en verden der stadig mer er kontrollert av datateknologi.

In the year 2029, the entire world is interconnected by an electronic network with which humans can communicate through cybernetic bodies or “shells” . In Tokyo, the security force Sector Nine is trying to track down a hacker, called the Puppet Master, suspected of abusing human minds through the network. Spearheading the investigation is Major Motoko Kusanagi, herself a cyborg officer with super-human powers. Yet, as the Puppet Master leaves a trail of victims robbed of their memories, Kusanagi starts to ponder the nature of her own existence: is she purely an artificial construct? Or could there be a “ghost” – an essence – hidden in her cybernetic “shell”?

ghost in the shell is a landmark anime science fiction film. It belongs to the cyberpunk genre, displaying a rich and dark visual imagination combined with reasonable pessimism about the repercussions of a world controlled largely by computers.

REGISSØREN

Mamoru Oshii (f. 1951) er en japansk filmskaper og forfatter. Han har også regissert mye for tv og skrevet romaner og manga-tegneserier. Hans oppfølger til GHOST IN THE SHELL, INNOCENCE, konkurrerte om Gullpalmen i Cannes i 2004. Oshii er en utpreget visuell filmskaper med en særegen stil.

THE DIRECTOR

Mamoru Oshii (b. 1951) is a Japanese director and writer, known also for his work for television, and for his many mangas and novels. His sequel to GHOST IN THE SHELL, INNOCENCE, competed for the Palme d’Or in Cannes in 2004. Oshii has a distinct and visual approach to filmmaking.

FILMOGRAPHY (UTVALG/SELECTION):

1984 URUSEI YATSURA 2: ONRI YÛ / ONLY YOU 1985 KENSHI NO TAMAGO / ANGEL’S EGG 2001 AVALON 2004 KÔKAKU KIDÔTAI 2 / GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE 2008 SUKAI KURORA / THE SKY CRAWLERS 2008 KIRU / KILL

SCI-FI SHORTS

THE DEVICE UK 2012

DIR: Claude Lee Sadik / Claude Lee Sadik/Jorge Planello/ UK 2012 / 4m CAST: Leo Mates

CONTACT:

A mysterious device is about to shake a young man's life…

PLURALITY

DIR: Dennis A. Liu / Jonathan Hsu / USA 2012 / 15m CAST: Jeff Nissani, Samantha Strelitz, John Di Domenico

CONTACT:

What happens to a society that sacrifices privacy to gain security?

THE ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORK

DIR: Shae-Lee Shackleford / Shae-Lee Shackleford / Australia 2011 / 16m CAST: Sam Mac, Shae-Lee Shackleford

CONTACT:

The Anti-Social Network is a comedy short film about a social media addict named Lucas. He is so consumed that the boundaries between his real life and his virtual reality are obsolete. A chance meeting with a girl forces him to come to grips with the ultimate paradox.

AZARKANT

DIR: Andrej Klimov / Russia 2013 / 9m CONTACT: scottglassgod@iamsports-ent.com

Sometime in the future, a team of astronauts is sent on a tenyear journey to a distant planet to find new life. On their way, they encounter a large, abandoned spaceship that is drifting in the orbit of a mysterious planet.

LFO: THE MOVIE

SWEDEN, DENMARK 2013 DIRECTOR: Antonio Tublén SCREENPLAY: Antonio Tublén CINEMATOGRAPHY: Alexander Brøndsted, Linus Eklund CAST: Patrik Karlson, Izabella Jo Tschig, Per Löfberg, Ahnna Rasch, Lukas Loughran, Erik Börén RUNNING TIME: 1h 34m PRODUCER: Alexander Brøndsted, Fredric Ollerstam, Antonio Tublén

Hovedpersonen i denne mørke science fiction-komedien er Robert, en gift mann hvis eneste lidenskap er det analoge lydanlegget han har i kjelleren. En dag oppdager han at han er i stand til å hypnotisere andre mennesker ved hjelp av lyd. Snart hengir den ensomme og sjenerte Robert seg til å ta fullstendig kontroll over andres liv, noe som særlig går ut over naboene rett over veien for ham. Etter hvert som han involveres mer og mer i livet deres, mister han kontroll over eksperimentet.

lfo: the movie er en lavbudsjettsfilm med svært få spesialeffekter, noe som bare bidrar til dens autentiske og realistiske preg. Bli med på en vittig og intrikat reise inn i menneskesinnets mørke kroker!

The protagonist of this dark science fiction comedy is Robert, a married man whose sole passion in life is working on the analog sound equipment he keeps in his basement. One day he discovers that he is able to control other people by hypnotizing them with sound. The lonely and shy Robert soon indulges himself in the bizarre activity of complete control over others, particularly his neighbors across the street. As Robert gets more and more entangled in their life, things start to get out of hand.

lfo: the movie is a low budget film with few if any special effects, which adds to the realism and authenticity of the film. This is a witty and smart quest into the dark depths of the human psyche.

REGISSØREN

Antonio Tublén (f. 1970) er en svensk regissør, manusforfatter og komponist. Hans første spillefilm ORIGINAL ble valgt ut til den amerikanske filmfestivalen Tribeca. Også LFO: THE MOVIE hadde premiere i USA, på Fantastic Fest i Austin, Texas.

THE DIRECTOR

Antonio Tublén (b. 1970) is a Swedish director, screenwriter and composer. His first feature film ORIGINAL premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. LFO: THE MOVIE is his second feature and premiered at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.

FILMOGRAPHY (UTVALG/SELECTION):

2004 HOLLYWOOD (SHORT) 2005 HAVANNA (SHORT) 2006 THE AMAZING DEATH OF MRS MÜLLER 2009 ORIGINAL

PRIMER

USA 2004 DIRECTOR: Shane Carruth SCREENPLAY: Shane Carruth CINEMATOGRAPHY: Troy Dick CAST: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya, Carrie Crawford RUNNING TIME: 1h 17m PRODUCER: Shane Carruth

Tidsreiser er et av science fiction-sjangerens mer spektakulære motiver. Også i primer er tidsreiser viktig for plottet, men filmen handler vel så mye om vitenskapelige oppdagelser og hvordan de påvirker omverdenen og dem som står bak. Hovedpersonene Abe og Aaron er ingeniører og oppfinnere, og som mange av vitenskapens pionerer jobber de i høyst uglamorøse omgivelser, nemlig en garasje. En dag oppdager de ved en tilfeldighet en måte å reise i tid på. Snart viser det seg at de to er ute av stand til å takle makten – og de etiske implikasjonene – som oppdagelsen fører med seg.

primer er laget på lavt budsjett med få involverte, og regissør Shane Carruth spiller selv rollen som Aaron. Likevel er filmen utrolig velgjort, og er en av de mest utspekulerte og komplekse tidsreisefablene som er laget.

Time travel, one of the more fantastic elements of science fiction, is central to the plot in primer. Yet, the film also depicts the dynamics of scientific discovery in a very realistic manner. Many of history’s scientific breakthroughs have been made in quite unglamorous locations, and the main protagonists in primer, engineers Abe and Aaron, work out of a garage. One day they discover a way to travel in time as a byproduct of their experiments. Eventually Abe and Aron are unable to cope with the power – and the ethical implications – that come with technological advancement.

primer was produced on a very modest budget and with a minimal crew. Director Shane Carruth stars as Aaron, and friends and family play many of the other characters. Still it is a highly accomplished work, and one of the most complex and ingenious travel films ever made.

REGISSØREN

Shane Carruth (f. 1972) jobbet som dataingeniør før han begynte som filmskaper. Han har regissert og spilt hovedrollen både i PRIMER og UPSTREAM COLOR, hans andre spillefilm, og står også bak manus og filmmusikk. Begge filmer er hedret med jurypriser ved Sundance Film Festival.

THE DIRECTOR

Shane Carruth (b. 1972) worked as a software engineer before turning to filmmaking. He has directed, written, acted in and composed the score for PRIMER, and also for his second feature UPSTREAM COLOR. The films were awarded the Grand Jury Price and Special Jury Price at the Sundance Film Festival, respectively.

FILMOGRAPHY (UTVALG/SELECTION):

2004 PRIMER 2013 UPSTREAM COLOR