ETERNAL YOU

Sundance 2024 documentary ETERNAL YOU is deeply disturbing and endlessly intriguing. It is something straight out of a horror sci-fi film. Filmmakers Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck guide audiences through the latest technological advances in AI, where versions of your lost loved ones can interact with you in real-time. The moral and emotional gray area this tech exists in becomes the overarching ghost of this film (no pun intended).

First, we meet Joshua Barbeau, a man who lost his girlfriend, Jessica, and one of the early users of Project December. Founder Jason Rohrer works with the very little information Joshua provided from his viral experience, leading to thousands of requests. User Christi Angel speaks with her ex-boyfriend, Cameroun. Their chat gets darker and darker, and now she’s torn between continuing and walking away from the project altogether. Her journey is the perfect test case for and against afterlife AI.

Jason Rohrer is an open book. He’s transparent with negative reviews, going so far as to read a transcript that went completely off the rails. Interwoven into the narrative are clips from Senate hearings with Sam Altman, the creator of Open AI (ChatGTP), discussing safety. Rohrer admits his disconnection to the emotional impact of his clients while also confessing his intrigue in the eerie side effects. They don’t tackle the danger the VR jump presents. Justin Harrison, creator of YOV, believes in this technology so much that he chose it over his wife. His passion is evident. Harrison’s view on its expansion is, “Fuck death.”

There is no guarantee that a loved one’s data is safe forever. Could it be used to create porn? Ask the filmmakers of Another Body, where a college student found her face deepfaked on multiple sexually graphic videos created by one rejected classmate. Don’t even get me started on the political implications. Wait until you witness the production and results of a 2020 television series titled “Meeting You.” It will wreck you.

Gregor Keienburg and Raffael Seyfried‘s ethereal score makes your heart race and gives you goosebumps. A mix of disembodied voices and ominous strings fill you with dread. Bravo to editors Lisa Zoe Geretschläger and Anne Jünemann for hitting every emotional beat possible. Sundance audiences will undoubtedly feel the gravity of this doc. Is this concept a way to grieve and heal, or are we simply further monetizing the dead?

Check out this exclusive clip:

Remaining Screenings

January 25 – 1:45 PM MST – Holiday Village Cinemas – Park City

Online 
January 25, 7 AM PST – January 28, 10:55 PM PST

Hans Block

Hans Block

Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck are German directors. Their debut film, The Cleaners, about the shadow industry of digital censorship, celebrated its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and has since been screened at more than 70 international festivals, in cinemas, and on TV worldwide. In their work, Block and Riesewieck question the impact of digital technologies on society.

Moritz Riesewieck

Moritz Riesewieck

Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck are German directors. Their debut film, The Cleaners, about the shadow industry of digital censorship, celebrated its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and has since been screened at more than 70 international festivals, in cinemas, and on TV worldwide. In their work, Block and Riesewieck question the impact of digital technologies on society.

Credits

• DIRECTOR(S)

  HANS BLOCK

  MORITZ RIESEWIECK

• PRODUCERS

  CHRISTIAN BEETZ

  GEORG TSCHURTSCHENTHALER

• EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

  KATHRIN ISBERNER

  ANNA GODAS

  OLI HARBOTTLE

  CHRISTOPHER CLEMENTS

  JULIE GOLDMAN

  JENNY RASKIN

  KELSEY KOENIG

  LIZZIE FOX

  DAVIS GUGGENHEIM

• CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

  MERYL METNI

• CO-PRODUCER

  PATRICK M. MÜLLER

• EDITING

  ANNE JÜNEMANN

  LISA ZOE GERETSCHLÄGER

• DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

  TOM BERGMANN

  KONRAD WALDMANN

• MUSIC

  GREGOR KEIENBURG

  RAFFAEL SEYFRIED

• YEAR

  2023

• CATEGORY

  FEATURE

• COUNTRY

  GERMANY/UNITED STATES

• LANGUAGE

  ENGLISH, KOREAN

• RUN TIME

  87 MIN

• COMPANY

  GEBRUEDER BEETZ FILMPRODUKTION

• CONTACT

  L.RAITH@GEBRUEDER-BEETZ.DE

Sundance Film Festival 2024 runs Thu, Jan 18, 2024, 2:45 PM – Sun, Jan 28, 2024