Pavle Levi
Landscapes and People (Toward Instigative Cinema)
This presentation will address various modalities of the cinematic relationship between people and landscapes, with emphasis on the Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav context. Tracing the dynamics of on-screen presence and absence, and drawing on a range of contemporary and historical examples – landscape documentaries, Partizan films, hybrid forms of politically engaged cinema – we will consider the audio-visual specifics of both the “happening of landscapes” and the “happening of the people.” Particular attention will be paid to the catalytic, instigative function of film practice in these processes.
Films that will be considered include: “Resumption of Work at the Wonder Factory” (IHEC Student Collective), “The Sky Through the Trees” (S. Jankovic), “Oldtimer” (Z. Zilnik), “When Spring Comes Late” (E. Kryeziu), “Homelands” (J. Maksimovic), “Still Divided” (B. Jankovic, R. Jausovec), “Never Rest/Unrest” (T. Sia)
Maciej Żemojcin
How to recognize what is real in the AI era? And why does it matter?
In an age where artificial intelligence can fabricate anything—faces, voices, even human-like text—the boundary between real and artificial is rapidly blurring. This masterclass explores the urgent need to recognize authenticity in a digitally manipulated world, where the ability to distinguish truth is essential for maintaining trust in journalism, science, democracy, and everyday life. As we confront the risk of confusion and manipulation, the session emphasizes the importance of new literacies, global content authentication standards, and bottom-up approaches to restoring trust. Highlighting initiatives like the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial’s collaboration with digital storytellers to certify historically accurate narratives, the class offers both philosophical insight and practical pathways for anchoring truth in a reality increasingly shaped by AI.
PLAY.DOCS TALK
Igor Simić
When reality and video games overlap
Increasingly, games are described as an art form for exploring issues that are normally expected from literature or cinema. With many examples of well-known games and the three games he co-created with Demagog Studio, Igor Simic will make the case for gaming as a fresh and more effective medium for certain artistic experiences in an era where everything we listen, observe, and consume has become content.
The video games Igor will be exploring in this session include: GTA (Rockstar Games), Gorilla.bas (Microsoft, MS-DOS), The Incredible Machine (Dynamix), Monkey Island (LucasArts), Another World (Eric Chahi, Delphine Software), Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer), Papers, Please (Lucas Pope), Shadow of the Colossus (Fumito Ueda, Sony), Journey (That Game Company), Last of Us (Naughty Dog), Total Refusal collective.
