- Yesterday seen quite a cool move:
LovePhie Ambo / Denmark / 2007 / 79 min.
The ability to love and be loved is one of the basic definitions of humans. Nevertheless, as modern technology increasingly encroaches upon people's everyday lives, this idea might need to be redefined, i.e. how does artificial intelligence fit into this concept? Director Phie Ambo follows the story of Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro from Osaka University who creates a Geminoid – a remote–controlled duplicate of himself – and prepares to introduce him to his wife and daughter. Another Japanese scientist creates an artificial baby seal called Paro, who keeps lonely and mentally handicapped people company and demonstrably increases their brain activity as a result. The animal–robot responds to the voice of its owners and can even "remember" its name with the aid of sensors. Naturally, these innovations necessarily give rise to some ethical questions: Is it right to allow someone to live under the illusion that they are "loved" by a machine, which does not have the same feelings for them? And then there is the old question about robotics itself: If machines can replace us, are we therefore not totally redundant?
- Today is preparing myself to see quite a difficult one. But I prefer to see the reality how it is even if it is something very, very unpleasant.
Karsten Hein / Germany / 2006 / 105 min.
Ukraine has one of the highest rates of AIDS in Europe. According to the official statistics, 26,000 people in the country are HIV positive. In reality 200,000 to 300,000 Ukrainians are infected and experts from non–governmental organisations describe the situation as a rising epidemic. This alarming situation has probably also been facilitated by the changes of the past two decades, which robbed people of their certainties and stable social order, leaving many lost in the process. In six chapters, this film examines the issue from all possible angles and pays attention to the other problems that are connected with the spread of HIV, particularly drugs, prostitution and infected children. The director not only presents several people suffering from this insidious disease, but also shows workers from non–profit organisations who are striving to temper the consequences of the illness for both individuals and society as a whole.
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