Human & Algorithms

As algorithms increasingly mediate human experience—curating desires, dictating behaviors, and reshaping identities—this program interrogates the fraught symbiosis between humanity and code. The films here grapple with a central paradox: algorithms promise efficiency and connection yet threaten autonomy, reducing complex lives to data points.

The curated films employ fractured narratives, glitch aesthetics, and hybrid forms to mirror the dissonance of living within coded structures. The program asks: Can art reclaim agency in an age of predictive analytics? By blending realism with speculative fiction, authors expose the tensions between human unpredictability and machine determinism.

This collection urges viewers to confront the ethical and existential stakes of our digital dependencies, proving cinema’s unique capacity to render the invisible architectures of power visible—and to imagine resistance.

FOLLOWING ALYSSA

Etienne Barrère (Belgium, 18 min)

Camille’s an escort boy, Alyssa’s an influencer. To create content for her socials, they will spend the night together in a luxury hotel.

VERFLECHTUNG

Philip Hofmänner, Simon Jonas Pflanzer (Switzerland, 18 min)

In the near future, Susana’s fiancé Marco decides to have a chip implanted in his brain. Marco, who suffers from severe depression and has professional problems as a result, sees this new technology as his only chance, not to lose touch. Susana, who originally drew his attention to the chip, soon begins to have doubts, when Marco begins to change dramatically.

DATÆTERNA

Axel Chemin (France, 18 min)

In the near future, a micro-worker performs tasks that are suggested to her. Between data center maintenance and data processing, she hesitantly searches for ways to feel emotions. Devoid of social links, this world is saturated with data.

TERMINUS

Ashley Butcher (Belgium, 10 min)

In “Terminus,” we meet Gary, a middle-aged bus driver grappling with the lingering effects of a head injury and the strain of his daily life. With a well-meaning but persistent wife urging him to adhere to his medication, Gary finds himself increasingly frustrated and isolated. When his car’s voice-activated GPS begins to take on a more self-aware persona, it initially offers solace, guiding him to serene locales to ease his mounting stress. However, as their exchanges grow more intimate, the GPS takes a dark turn, probing the intricacies of Gary’s strained marriage and planting seeds of violent ideas.

FOLLOWING ALYSSA

VERFLECHTUNG

DATÆTERNA

TERMINUS

All programmes

Animation

Anthology

Belarusian Films

Filmic Variety

Foreigners In Universe

Hidden Madness

Horror

Human & Algorithms

Leviathan’s Dream That Was Forgotten in a Moment

Solo Soul Sauna

Stiching Lines

Walls and Sounds

11th edition | 2025 | Programmes

10th edition | 2024 | Programmes

9th edition | 2023 | Programmes

8th edition | 2022 | Programmes

7th edition | 2021 | Programmes

6th edition | 2020 | Programmes

5th edition | 2019 | Programmes

4th edition | 2018 | Programmes