Rosa Wernecke
Before the Drop
Goethe-Institut / HAU Hebbel am Ufer
AIsolation
Short Films
The winners
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Before the Drop is a hybrid short film that combines elements of AI-generated film and desktop documentary. It explores bias against queer content in generative AI. Through metaphors and subtexts – using objects, fruit and fluids – lesbian desire is reclaimed. The work shows how the artist and AI work together to circumvent censorship in order to develop a suggestive, queer and resistant erotic language.
Quote from the jury's statement for the award Best Artistic Innovation:
More than an artistic experiment, this work is a timely social intervention that demonstrates how artistic language can reclaim space against algorithmic limitations.
Lazybackhome
iDent
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“iDent” is an AI-generated film created with SORA and ChatGPT. Based on the paradox that AI cannot maintain a stable “face,” the phrase “We have different faces, but the same will” reflects the central conflict. Inspired by “Unity” from “Rick and Morty,” the film takes up the theme of facial mutation and shared cognition. Four perspectives from SORA show a character trapped in a system loop – a reflection of the tension between individual freedom of action and social pressure for efficiency, stability and uniformity.
Quote from the jury's statement for the award Most Courageous Visionary of the Future:
By unveiling the brutal logic of sameness beneath the illusion of diversity, “iDent” addresses institutional alienation and identity crises in the age of “intelligence”. It is an artistic warning signal for the future.
Special Mention by the Jury
Barcode People (Qihao LIANG, Tong SHU)
Discourse on the origins of inequality among ≥ ≈
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Inspired by Rousseau's ”Discourse on Inequality” and the statement: “AI should only do my laundry and wash my dishes.” AI is driven by algorithms – a human-created logic that reproduces our structures of superiority. But what if AI, free from human prejudice, develops its own value system beyond our imagination? True equality requires openness to fluid, changing world orders.
Quote from the statement for the Special Mention by the Jury Award:
By dismantling the myth of a technological utopia, the work transforms critique into a fundamental inquiry into the rules of togetherness. Its perspective is both innovative and unique.
Leon Keiditsch
Reverse Engineering Non Generic AI Poetry
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A poem emerges from a reflective dialogue between humans and AI. This process, which is both indicative and deductive, plays with the attention span and viewing habits of audiences in the age of TikTok. How do we drift off when we are over- or under-challenged? Where do our thoughts drift – and could there be a hidden creative space there? The question of who wrote the poem – whether it was written for the AI or by the AI – remains open. Both humans and machines claim authorship.
Quote from the statement for the Special Mention by the Jury Award:
Witty and incisive, this film resonates as an anthem for individual imagination reclaiming autonomy in an algorithmic world.
Longlist
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing art and everyday life. “AIsolation” shows 22 international short films that creatively illuminate the opportunities, risks and ethical issues of AI, reflecting on isolation, technology and new forms of coexistence.
The rapid development of AI technologies is fundamentally changing our society and culture – it opens up new possibilities but also brings significant challenges: At the Berlinale 2025, a 72-minute animated film was presented that was created by a single person in just seven days using AI. These developments demonstrate how artificial intelligence empowers independent creatives and democratizes access to art production. At the same time, the technology raises serious questions: In February 2024, a 14-year-old in Orlando took his own life after discussing suicide with an AI-powered virtual partner. Such tragic cases highlight the risks of unregulated AI use and make ethical and societal debates urgently necessary. Can artificial intelligence reduce social isolation, or could it even exacerbate it?
Against this backdrop, the Goethe-Institut and HAU Hebbel am Ufer, in cooperation with Berlin Art Week, are presenting the online short film series “AIsolation,” created as part of the AI short film competition of the same name. The aim is to foster critical reflection on artificial intelligence and its impact on society. An interdisciplinary jury of experts from the fields of film, art, humanities, and technology selected the 22 most remarkable out of 205 submissions from countries such as China, Germany, France, the UK, Korea, Malaysia, Ukraine, the USA and Uzbekistan.
The films, which are up to five minutes long, express artistic perspectives and visions on the topic of “AIsolation,” aesthetically reflect the collaboration between humans and AI and at the same time explore the limits of visual language.
On 14 September at 14:00, the award ceremony and subsequent panel discussion will take place simultaneously at the Goethe-Institut China and via livestream on the digital stage HAU4 (hau4.de). Viewers worldwide can watch the event there free of charge.
Jury members:
First round:
Shu Cao (interdisciplinary artist)
Pengyuan Gu (programme director at the FIRST Fantastic Film Festival)
Sarah Reimann (curator HAU4)
Theresa Reiwer ((post)digital artist)
Second round:
Qiufan Chen (writer and futurist)
Tianzhuo Chen (multidisciplinary artist)
Katja Grawinkel-Claassen (dramaturge)
Tan Chui Mui (film director)
Inhwa Yeom (media artist)
Theresa Züger (interdisciplinary researcher in the field of artificial intelligence)
Long list:
Before the Drop | Rosa Wernecke
briDsunG | Ziyang Lin
Discourse on the origins of inequality among ≥ ≈ | Barcode People (Qihao LIANG, Tong SHU)
Echo | Ziyu Lin
Good Days | Kam Hiu Lam, Alexis
iDent | Lazybackhome
Invisible Women | Ohuo (Fan Yu, Song Lu)
Is the art gallery a battlefield? | Yuke Li
Island Man | Shan Lu
Joan of Arc Arrives at the Hotel Intercontinental | Meghan Smith
John Doe | Qiao Hu
Moments When Pain Arrives | Jiangyan Huang
Phantastikè | Yewen LIU, Shuai LIU
Red Desire | Minto Yang, Zhiheng Zhang, Dongyi Li, Kexin Chen
Reverse Engineering Non Generic AI Poetry | Leon Keiditsch
The anger that breaks a man into boys | Wenjun Xu
The spectacle of paradise | Hanlin Wang
Trash Boy | Daniel Renn
What Makes Us Human | Wuyenong
Which Is True | Wenlong Qi
White Room, Black Square | Wenxuan Lyu, Xinyu Liu
Wild Horses | iRuler
Note:
The short films will be available in the HAUthek until 31 December.
Date
- Wed 10.9.2025, 17:00HAU4
- Sun 14.9.2025, 14:00HAU4
Credits
A cooperation between Goethe-Institut and HAU Hebbel am Ufer.