The first edition of the RAIN Film Festival, the first European film festival generated with artificial intelligence, “was not a flash in the pan.” This is how forceful Jordi Balló, co-director of the event, has been during the presentation of the second edition of this innovative event co-organized by the Pompeu Fabra University and Sónar, which will be held in Barcelona between June 11 and 14 and will bring together the most prominent profiles in the fields of research, experimentation and film creation assisted with artificial intelligence. “We want films to be born in this festival,” continued Balló, who has recognized the impact of a call that has gone from receiving 50 films to 232 in 2024.
In 2023 the rooms were full and this year the expectation has grown significantly towards a festival that will take the pulse of generative AI in the processes of audiovisual and artistic creation with the assistance of those responsible for META, Netflix and the start-ups Krea, Stability AI or Hugging Face. In addition, the RAIN is offered as a space for reflection, dialogue and interconnection between different social actors to promote and transfer knowledge, a critical spirit towards these technologies and the dissemination of these creative practices so that new relationships, initiatives, proposals and projects emerge. In this edition, the festival will highlight the figure of the artist and the role of IA in relation to identity, creation and recreation of individual and collective memory.
Of the 232 proposals received, a total of 10 have been selected from the five continents. Among them there is Spanish representation by Anna Halbleib, who will present When people talk about their dead, they look up. “This year there is a very varied profile. If in 2023 there were proposals from people who came from the world of advertising, music videos or motion graphics, now there are more filmmakers and it shows in the quality of the works,” said the co-director of the Fest section, Anna Giralt. She has also increased the length of the pieces, which are between 15 and 20 minutes. “They are short films that mix documentary and fiction and reflect on topics ranging from memory to the desire to understand this technology,” she commented on a selection that represents the “diversity in the narrative use of AI in independent cinema.”
The 10 films can be seen on the afternoon of June 11 at the Poblenou campus of the Pompeu Fabra University, the creators will come to discuss their works with the public and an international jury will award the films with three awards: Best film (3,000 euros) , Jury Prize, with 2,000 euros and Special Mention with 1,000.
The opening day will open with the Research section, a space aimed at researching the present and future of the creation of audiovisual content with generative artificial intelligence. There will be a debate on the implications of AI in the ethical, social, cultural, ecological, political and economic spheres and experts such as Shyam Sundar, Marcelo Bertalmío, Christian Canton and Carlos Castillo will participate. “The RAIN is a unique and genuine festival that with this second edition demonstrates that it is unstoppable and multiplies its more diverse offering,” said Frederic Guerrero-Solé, co-director of this research section. The second day will be marked by Rainnova, a space for the presentation of projects and developments in the process of creation, as well as experimental testing of generative AI technological solutions applied to ideation, production and audiovisual editing.
Among others, creators such as Carme Puche (filmmaker and vice president of Dones Visuals) and Sergio Álvarez-Napagao (filmmaker and researcher at the UPC) will participate. Puche, finalist of the previous edition with My Word, will show the project she is currently working on. As was done in 2023, Rain will feature LIVE, a performative musical and audiovisual event with live sessions and artistic installations. On this occasion, you can enjoy the performances of the artists Citlali Hernández, Nicola Privato and Blazej Kotowski.
On June 13 and 14, RAIN moves to the Fira de Montjuïc, headquarters of Sónar by day. On the first day, the FAIR is held, organized by the Pompeu Fabra University, Sónar and the Futures Chair in Communication, with the collaboration of the Audiovisual Cluster of Catalonia. This will be a space for reflection, debate and exchange, where some sixty international experts in AI and the audiovisual industry sector will meet.
On the 14th it is the AI’s turn
