UPDATE: The Ventana Sur tech strand is shaking up the audiovisual industry this week in Buenos Aires, tackling the urgent question: “What matters more – the job or the work?” As creators and investors gather, the event highlights a pivotal shift in film, television, and gaming, driven by artificial intelligence.
The series of panels, keynotes, and curated networking sessions focuses on the future of the sector, with a spotlight on ‘Humans + AI: In Motion’. This showcase features 10 works that explore human-AI collaborations, each running between two to five minutes. These pieces were selected from over 30 submissions from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Uruguay.
According to Juan Marcos Melo, head of VS Tech and co-curator of the showcase, the intent is not to replace human actors with AI. “What we wanted to prioritize wasn’t the typical replacement of actors through AI,” he stated. Instead, the focus is on using AI as a tool to amplify human storytelling. Melo suggests that fears around AI replacing jobs will eventually subside, leading to a productive coexistence between technology and the creative workforce.
Among the innovative pieces presented is Argentina’s short film, directed by Nicolás Couvin. The five-minute work revisits the 1982 conflict between Argentina and Britain, which claimed 649 Argentine and 255 British lives. Constructed entirely from archival photographs, Couvin utilized AI tools such as Runway ML and Kling to bring these images to life. “AI is already reshaping production. Its upside is democratizing,” he noted, emphasizing that creators can generate content at minimal costs. However, he cautioned that reliance on AI could lead to job reductions in mid- and low-budget projects.
At the same time, Uruguay’s entry, directed by Yves Fogel, is a three-and-a-half-minute existential dark comedy featuring a lonely ghost seeking companionship in a desolate tundra. Completed within 48 hours by an eight-person team, the film utilized multiple AI technologies, including Midjourney and ElevenLabs, showcasing the speed and efficiency of AI in modern filmmaking.
Brazil’s entry, by Cristiano de Oliveira Sousa, uses AI to transform childhood experiences of bullying into a more healing narrative. Sousa believes that AI offers new storytelling possibilities. “The goal is not only artistic but also therapeutic,” he stated, noting that it enables creators to reimagine their stories with greater flexibility and lower costs.
Other featured works at VS Tech include submissions from Ecuador, Venezuela, and multiple Argentine creators, further showcasing the diverse narratives emerging from AI collaborations.
Looking ahead, Melo emphasizes that VS Tech will continue to embrace any human story produced with artistic ambition that incorporates AI at some stage of the creative process. “There’s a heated debate around something that is here to stay,” he concluded. As major media groups and streaming platforms begin to implement AI technologies, the impact on traditional storytelling methods is expected to intensify.
Stay tuned as the Ventana Sur continues to explore these dynamic intersections between technology and creativity, raising critical questions about the future of work in the audiovisual landscape.
