Science at Sundance 2024

INSIGHTS B O OKS et al . Downloaded from https://www.science.org at Dartmouth College on March 26, 2024 REVIEW ROUNDUP One was originally designed to monitor the oceans and the other to welcome alien life- Science at Sundance 2024 forms to Earth. Iam is “humanity’s’ tomb- stone,” carrying petabytes of details about human civilization and programmed to Climate change–induced droughts lead to violent clashes in Kenya. An communicate only with living beings. Feel- actor’s pivot to stem cell advocacy cements his legacy as a hero. Start-ups ing pressured to pass as a life-form to keep promising digital immortality prepare to reanimate the dead. From a Iam’s attention, Me pores through the sat- ellite’s databases and decides to model its meditation on Himalayan moths and a futuristic fable about what it means behavior on an archive of a happy human to be alive to immersive meditations on happiness in Bhutan and loneli- couple’s social media video posts. Me and ness online, science-minded moviegoers were rewarded with a number of Iam create a virtual world for themselves where they can interact as avatars, but Me’s thought-provoking offerings at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Read on insistence that they endlessly reenact the for our reviewers’ impressions of seven of this year’s films. —Valerie Thompson couple’s videos and Iam’s desire for new and genuine experiences cause tension that drives the bulk of the film. On the surface, Love Me chronicles the Love Me rial debut film by Sam and Andy Zuchero and the 2024 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation intellectual and emotional awakening of two intelligent computers, a concept that Reviewed by Michael D. Shapiro1 Feature Film Prize winner. no longer seems completely far-fetched in The film, which features gorgeous motion the age of artificial intelligence. However, it ILLUSTRATION: HEDOF On a future Earth devoid of humanity, a capture animation and touching, vulner- is also a relationship film that draws sharp smart buoy named “Me” (Kristen Stewart) able performances by Stewart and Yeun in contrasts between the idea of true self and and a satellite named “Iam” (Steven Yeun) both their computer-generated and analog the selves we present to others. Perhaps as a spend several billion years exploring what it forms, imagines a very, very long-term rela- jab at our cultural values at the fictional im- means to be human in Love Me, the directo- tionship between two artificial intelligences. minent demise of humanity, Me is initially 1052 8 MARCH 2024 • VOL 383 ISSUE 6687 science.org SCIENCE  Downloaded from https://www.science.org at Dartmouth College on March 26, 2024 misguided by the deluge of online influenc- private investigator with a friendly face cre- of life. They viewed his gaming as com- ers, digital ghosts who sabotage the buoy’s ated by Norwegian gamer Mats Steen as pulsive and self-isolating, a wasting of life progress toward becoming a real life-form. “an expansion” of himself. Ibelin went on matched only by the wasting of his mus- Over many millennia, Me and Iam experi- countless adventures with his friends in cles. Such framing puts a subtle spotlight ence joy and self-satisfaction, as well as the Starlight guild; they explored, slayed on “gaming disorder,” an underresearched crushing loneliness and depression. For dragons, and partied into the wee hours. and much-criticized psychopathology rec- Iam, a billion years of self-discovery and Ibelin was a trusted confidant, listening to ognized by the World Health Organization empathy is the path to achieving its original problems and providing heartfelt support. in 2018. It is also a foil for the film’s second directive to “connect” with other life-forms. He made connections and fell in love before and third acts, when Ree pivots to Mats’s But without a meaningful connection to logging off permanently when Steen, aged perspective, as told through in-game chat Me, even though it knows every bit of infor- 25, succumbed to a severe form of muscular logs and his blog, “Musings of Life.” mation recorded by humanity, the satellite dystrophy. A gifted writer, Mats speaks to the value admits that it knows nothing at all. The film opens with Robert and Trude of gaming for building community—it is Steen, Mats’s grieving parents, and their “not a screen, but a gateway.” Ree reinforces Love Me, Sam Zuchero and Andy Zuchero, directors, discovery of his online life. The pair were this point by drawing the viewer into World ShivHans Pictures, 2024, 92 minutes. unaware of its immense depth and richness, of Warcraft. Relying on chat logs and voice as recorded across 42,000 pages of gaming actors, Ree recreates in-game exchanges as dialogue. The poignancy of this revelation is animated vignettes, as if he is filming on Ibelin amplified with interviews and home video footage that follow the inexorable progres- location inside the game. It is a creative masterstroke, and it gives us a third per- Reviewed by Nathaniel J. Dominy2 sion of Mats’s disease. Ree captures Robert spective: Ibelin’s. and Trude’s sense of helplessness, which Most gamers are between 18 and 30 years Norwegian filmmaker Benjamin Ree’s lat- will resonate with many parents. old, an age range with the greatest preva- est film, Ibelin, takes its name from Lord From Robert and Trude’s perspective, lence of loneliness. Some might view this Ibelin Redmoore, an avatar in the mas- Mats grew increasingly withdrawn as a association as causation, but Ibelin, which sive multiplayer online role-playing game teenager and young man, logging 20,000 took home an Audience Award and a Jury World of Warcraft. Ibelin was a strapping hours of game time during his final 10 years Award for Directing, offers a compelling SCIENCE science.org 8 MARCH 2024 • VOL 383 ISSUE 6687 1053 INSIGHTS | B O O K S Climate change and cattle conflicts exacerbate existing tensions in The Battle for Laikipia. Downloaded from https://www.science.org at Dartmouth College on March 26, 2024 counterpoint: Gaming can enhance our ancient migration routes are increasingly well-being. The film seems partially in- tended for researchers and policy-makers, blocked by ranches and conservancies. Descendants of British colonialists Eternal You Reviewed by Michael D. Shapiro1 calling attention to the urgent need for re- own much of the Laikipia landscape, and liable data on the global health benefits of the film focuses on the 8000-acre Kifuku social connections that transcend the physi- ranch. Ranchers Maria Dodds and her son Artificial intelligence (AI) is creeping into cal world. George are deeply committed to raising every facet of our digital lives, and a grow- Boran cattle and feel they “would be lost ing number of companies want to ensure Ibelin, Benjamin Ree, director, Medieoperatørene, 2024, without their land.” Despite being fourth- that AI also accompanies us in death. The 104 minutes. generation Kenyans, they feel that they documentary film Eternal You introduces will never be fully accepted as citizens. viewers to several start-ups that promise A relative newcomer, Tom Silvester something once limited to the realm of reli- founded the Loisaba conservancy in 1997. gion: eternal life. The Battle for Laikipia The conservancy features a 58,000-acre pri- vate reserve where giraffes, elephants, and Algorithms can mimic a deceased per- son’s syntax, vocabulary, and conversational Reviewed by Gabrielle Kardon3 zebras abound. Keeping cattle out of the pre- tendencies using surprisingly little informa- serve is essential for conservation of wildlife. tion, such as text message threads or emails, At the heart of The Battle for Laikipia, a The film unfolds as three consecutive allowing grieving loved ones to simulate new documentary film directed by Daphne years of severe drought send these groups communications with dead friends and rel- Matziaraki and Peter Murimi, is the Lai- on a violent collision course. As water and atives. Some companies develop AI models kipia Plateau, a highland 6500 feet above grasslands dwindle, the Samburu, ranch- of the dead with the goal of delivering posi- sea level in central Kenya that is one of ers, and conservancy staff clash. Homes tive experiences for their customers. For ex- the richest areas of endangered mamma- and property are destroyed, cattle are kid- ample, the filmmakers document a family lian species. The plateau is home to na- napped, and people on all sides are killed. in Detroit as they listen to an AI tell stories ture conservancies, Indigenous pastoralist Adding to this volatile mix is a contentious in the simulated voice of their dead patri- cattle herders, large cattle ranches, and parliamentary election, which includes a arch. A few relatives are comforted, some ~300,000 cattle. Balancing the needs of candidate inciting racial violence. are amused, and others are deeply skeptical animals and people is difficult in the best Having embedded within the communi- that the exercise has any real meaning. of times. However, more extensive peri- ties they document for more than 6 years, Other companies seemingly make no ods of climate change–induced drought the directors have crafted a film that pro- value judgments when creating an algorithm PHOTO: COURTESY OF SUNDANCE INSTITUTE have exacerbated tensions in this region, vides an intimate and nuanced firsthand and simply let their AI run amok. In one resulting in explosive clashes between its view of the Laikipia conflict. The tension scene, viewers see a woman exchanging text inhabitants. is palpable, the stakes are high, and, unfor- messages with a simulation of her dead boy- The film first introduces viewers to the tunately, there are no easy solutions. Such friend, which tells her that he is in hell hang- Samburu, an Indigenous tribe of semino- conflicts over land, water, and food are ex- ing out with drug addicts and that he plans madic pastoralists who primarily raise pected to accelerate with climate change. to haunt her as soon as he is done torment- cattle. “Cattle are life” for the Samburu; ing people at a treatment center. This unex- cows are given as gifts for all major occa- The Battle for Laikipia, Daphne Matziaraki and Peter pected turn in the conversation leaves the sions, and tribesmen are traditionally bur- Murimi, directors, We Are Not the Machine Ltd, 2023, religious woman traumatized, reinforcing a ied enwrapped in cowhide. However, their 94 minutes. key theme of the film—that AI developers do 1054 8 MARCH 2024 • VOL 383 ISSUE 6687 science.org SCIENCE  not always know how their algorithms work or how unexpected behaviors emerge. In- ple are essential to the scientific enterprise. Mungee’s research represents an impor- Super/Man deed, one CEO describes his company’s ser- tant contribution to the field of biodiver- Reviewed by Anthea Letsou4 vice not as intentionally creating something sity. However, in Nocturnes it also serves as with predictable behavior but rather as har- a plot convention, allowing the filmmak- nessing “conscious entities lurking online.” ers to tell a more meditative story as they A little-known actor when he was cast in At nearly every turn in the film, AI ethicists guide viewers through an old-growth Hi- the role of Superman, Christopher Reeve expose moral quandaries that do not seem to malayan forest. Both cinematography and went on to become a screen icon, starring worry the purveyors of digital afterlife. Who sound design contribute to our entry into in four Warner Bros. Superman films. But owns the highly personal data used to create the film’s reality. We witness, without nar- his film career was cut short in 1995 by a the AI model? Is this just a way to commodify ration, biodiversity in moth color, size, and tragic equestrian accident that severed the grief and loneliness? We are still dealing with wing shape and pattern, while clip-on mics actor’s spinal cord and left him unable to the fallout of unforeseen personal, mental on the moth screens amplify the moths’ move below the shoulders or breathe on health, social, and political dangers of social cacophony. Like Mungee and Marphew, his own. At the time, Reeve was only 42, media—will we make some of the same mis- viewers may have an urge to swipe the in- the father of a 3-year-old child with his takes again by deploying AI before we under- sects away from their eyes and ears. The wife, Dana Reeve, and two older children stand how it works? sound engineers’ augmentation of forest then living in England with their mother, Huge tech companies have filed patents for sounds and weather and the integration Gae Exton. The accident forced Reeve to the types of eternal AI models that were once of these sounds with an original score by find new meaning in his life and defined Downloaded from https://www.science.org at Dartmouth College on March 26, 2024 the purview of small start-ups. With a push Emmy Award–winning composer Nainita his legacy as a celebrity voice for disability for massive market expansion on the hori- Desai harmoniously extend the viewer’s and a human voice for stem cell research. zon, we will need to decide soon whether AI experience. Super/Man—Ian Bonhôte and Peter Et- models of the deceased will bring comfort or Nocturnes, which was awarded the World tedgui’s new documentary about Reeve, hinder how we deal with grief by turning our Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize who died in 2004—features a compendium attention away from the living world. for Craft, presents insect biodiversity re- of footage from home movies, studio ar- search as both cinematic and magical. chives, and contemporary interviews with Eternal You, Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck, direc- More than an adventure story about field surviving family and friends, all deftly ed- tors, Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, 2023, 87 minutes. scientists, it allows the moviegoer to align ited by Otto Burnham. The film’s primary to the rhythms of a forest and ultimately narrators are Reeve’s three children, Mat- participate in the film’s reality. Some will thew, Alexandra, and William, who offer Nocturnes likely find Nocturnes too slowly paced, but for those looking for a genuine, integrative viewers a glimpse into Reeve’s role as a fa- ther while also shining a light on the phil- Reviewed by Anthea Letsou4 experience of environment and fieldwork, anthropic endeavors that marked his final Nocturnes, in all its flutter, delivers. years. Reeve’s Juilliard roommate and life- Nocturnes documents the graduate studies long friend, the late actor Robin Williams, of Mansi Mungee in the Eaglenest Wildlife Nocturnes, Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan, is an integral figure as well. The film also Sanctuary, located in the eastern Himala- directors, Sandbox Films, 2024, 83 minutes. tells the story of Dana Reeve, who kept her yas of India. Filmmakers Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan follow Mungee as Dana and Christopher PHOTO: COURTESY OF SUNDANCE INSTITUTE, PHOTO BY MARY ELLEN MARK/THE MARY ELLEN MARK FOUNDATION. she and her collaborators Ramana Athreya and Gendan “Bicki” Marphew investigate Reeve are remembered with the effects of elevation (a proxy for tem- reverence in Super/Man. perature) on hawkmoth body size. The team’s method of hawkmoth field sampling is straightforward and effective: Mungee and her colleagues set up por- table ultraviolet moth screens during the night and photograph hawkmoths against a reference grid imprinted on the screen. We wait with Mungee and Marphew and witness them perform the same data col- lections over and over. We share Mun- gee’s excitement when too many moths to count alight on her moth screen, along with her disappointment on another day, when there are none. We are reminded that while scientists may understand how large changes in the environment, such as temperature shifts, affect adaptation, more subtle environmental effects remain to be identified. Conversations between Mar- phew and his friends—young men from the area employed to help Mungee in the field—remind viewers that Indigenous peo- SCIENCE science.org 8 MARCH 2024 • VOL 383 ISSUE 6687 1055 INSIGHTS | B O O K S Downloaded from https://www.science.org at Dartmouth College on March 26, 2024 Government workers assess citizen well-being in Bhutan in Agent of Happiness. husband’s two families united and was a but strives for acceptance in the community source of unconditional love and support Agent of Happiness (sense of worry: 10; happiness: 3.) High on after the accident. Dana died of lung can- a hillside, we meet Tshering, surrounded by Reviewed by Gabrielle Kardon3 cer in 2006 at the age of 44. prayer flags and mourning the passing of his In the last decade of their lives, Christo- wife. Yet he feels contentment, as he believes pher and Dana Reeve were vocal advocates Can happiness be quantified? The country his wife is reborn with the birth of his grand- for stem cell research. The film recognizes of Bhutan has devised the gross national son (sense of karma: 10; happiness: 7). the value of celebrity disease foundations happiness (GNH) index to do just this. First At the heart of the story is Gurung’s own and the important role they play in sup- conceived of as an alternative to the gross do- quest for happiness. At age 40, he is living porting all stages of translational research. mestic product, the GNH measures the col- with and caring for his elderly mother but The Christopher and Dana Reeve Founda- lective happiness of Bhutan’s citizens, with looking for love and marriage. He is smitten tion and its predecessors, the Stifel Paraly- the goal of governance that promotes human with Sarita Chettri, and they travel around sis Research Foundation and the American well-being over material wealth. To measure the countryside on his motorcycle, snap- Paralysis Association, have distributed the GNH, agents are sent across the country ping pictures. However, Gurung’s prospects more than $138,000,000 for paralysis re- to survey Bhutan’s citizens. are bleak. Despite being born in Bhutan, search and disability care. Missing from Agent of Happiness, directed by Arun as an ethnic Nepali, his citizenship was re- the documentary are details of the electri- Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó, follows one voked during a period of ethnic cleansing. cal stimulation therapy that helped Reeve of these agents, Amber Kumar Gurung. For Without citizenship, he has difficulty get- regain some movement and sensation to- each person he surveys, Gurung conducts ting permanent work or a passport, and his ward the end of his life and a discussion an extensive questionnaire, which includes relationship with Chettri is in peril (sense of of the foundation’s stem cell research and questions about living standards, health, belonging: 2; happiness: 5). PHOTO: COURTESY OF SUNDANCE INSTITUTE, PHOTO BY ARUN BHATTARAI its impact on the development of treat- education, community, time use, and psycho- Set in the rugged landscape of Bhutan, ment options for the paralyzed. Nonethe- logical well-being. this quietly moving film reveals the people less, Super/Man should be celebrated by Traveling by car and on foot with Gurung, behind the country’s happiness metrics and scientists for its recognition of the impor- viewers encounter people from all walks of gently probes the complexities of life in this tant role played by advocates in the promo- life. We meet 17-year-old Yanka taking care region, where beauty and the quest for hap- tion of basic and translational biomedical of her alcoholic mother and younger sister piness are juxtaposed with poverty and eth- research. in the countryside, who worries about her nic conflicts. j mother and dreams of becoming a police of- ficer (on a scale of 0 to 10, sense of loneliness: Agent of Happiness, Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, directors, 6; happiness: 4). We meet Dechen, a trans- Zurbó, directors, Sound Pictures, 2024, 94 minutes. Words+Pictures/Passion Pictures/Misfits Entertain- gender dancer living in town. She has a close ment, 2024, 104 minutes. relationship with her mother, who has cancer, 10.1126/science.ado5075 1 The reviewer is at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. Email: mike.shapiro@utah.edu 2The reviewer is at the Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. Email: nathaniel.j.dominy@dartmouth.edu 3The reviewer is at the Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. Email: gkardon@genetics.utah.edu 4The reviewer is at the Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. Email: aletsou@genetics.utah.edu 1056 8 MARCH 2024 • VOL 383 ISSUE 6687 science.org SCIENCE