Woodblock release short film Bye Bear
A new film from one of the studios behind shows at Las Vegas’ Sphere reflects on humanity, our wholesale embrace of AI and imagines a utopian alternative.
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Bye Bear premiered in 2023 at Sitges film festival, and since ran in 50 film festivals worldwide, earning itself Best Short European Fantastic Film at Razor Reel Film Festival.
When Alan Turing first devised a test to track a machine’s ability to imitate human behaviour, it’s unlikely he had today’s astonishing advancements in mind: AI-generated actors. Chatbots that can hold conversations. The resurrection of dead celebrities through technology. We’ve never been closer to recreating humanity in the machine, and yet despite its breathtaking advancement, AI is still incapable of generating a perfect facsimile. The question of ‘why this is’ is one of the many asked by this exciting new short film from one of the studios behind shows of the Las Vegas Sphere.
Woodblock's evocative animated short Bye Bear written and directed by Jan Bitzer is a powerful and disquieting evocation of the digital web we’ve become enmeshed in. The film follows a bear-masked robot who secretly longs to be an animal rather than mimic humanity. At a roadside motel, it finds comfort in a secret community of like-minded machines who share the hidden desire to exist in a safe-space where they support each other in the journey towards self-identification. Beneath the futuristic visuals lie questions that are searingly current. What does the future look like for the intelligence we create? Has our disconnection from the natural world meant sacrificing our humanity? Is it too late to turn back from our over-reliance on technology?
Credits
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- Production Company Woodblock
- Director Jan Bitzer
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Credits
View on- Production Company Woodblock
- Director Jan Bitzer
- Writer Jan Bitzer
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Credits
powered by- Production Company Woodblock
- Director Jan Bitzer
- Writer Jan Bitzer
Where Bye Bear fits in the industry today: Woodblock releases Bye Bear during this moment of cultural reckoning with artificial intelligence and its impact on society. With multiple interpretations, the film holds up a critical mirror to a technological rush in re-creating ourselves, while at the same time being a love letter to simple human connection. From Pinocchio’s quest to become a ‘real boy’ to Ex Machina’s unsettling portrait of machine consciousness, storytellers have long since wrestled with the rose and thorn of shaping technology in their own image. Through Bye Bear, Woodblock enters the discourse from a new perspective, suggesting that our creations may not aspire to mimic us but rather find their own place within nature, thus challenging our assumptions about what progress really means. By bringing the film to a global audience, Woodblock aligns itself with authentic, human-led storytelling.
Bitzer says: "I wanted to imagine a scenario where our own artificially intelligent creations reject the laid out path to become more human. Ultimately, Bye Bear is less about technology itself and more about the universal need for connection, community and belonging. For me, the film is a reminder that even in a time of rapid automation, the most powerful stories are still about love, trust, and friendship."
