AIDOL

Against the backdrop of the 2065 Olympic eSports final, AIDOL, with its ideas on human versus artificial intelligence, the power of megacorporations and the value of creativity, is set in a computer-generated gaming world. Our avatar is Diva, a superstar who is bereft of hits and engages an artificial intelligence to stage her comeback during the final. As in Lawrence Lek’s previous film Geomancer from 2017, the plot is of secondary importance, merely providing a trail for ideas to follow. The camera is on Diva in this futuristic, partly recognisable – jungle, temples, stadium – and partly abstract, alternative universe. By making the Bios battle the Synths in the final as man vs. machine, the film reflects on the rise of artificial intelligence, but also on typically human idiosyncrasies such as the desire for fame. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)