‘About a Hero’ Director on His AI Docufiction About Werner Herzog [Video]

Director Piotr Winiewicz is very aware of the inflammatory potential of discussions about AI within the film community. Still, he hopes his IDFA-opening feature debut “About a Hero” will rise above the discourse to inspire much-needed conversation about the future of technology concerning artistic practices and creativity.

“About a Hero” is a docufiction hybrid experiment that finds a starting point in Winiewicz and his team trying to develop an AI tool that can successfully mimic the work of renowned German director Werner Herzog. The script, adapted from the text generated by the resulting program, centers around Herzog’s investigation of the mysterious death of a factory worker in a small town. The fictional narrative is interspersed with interviews with artists, philosophers and scientists and features a cast that includes renowned Luxembourgish-German actress Vicky Krieps.

“The intention was never to embrace AI as a tool in filmmaking,” Winiewicz tells Variety. “If …