Rosa Wernecke
Before the Drop
AIsolation
Short Films
The winners
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
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
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
“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 (Liang Qihao, Shu Tong)
Discourse on the origins of inequality among ≥ ≈
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
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
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
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
briDsunG
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
A prompt engineer hears an eerie, unstructured sound, and accidentally inputs the word briDsunG, unleashing disorder into the system.
Echo
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
The promise of equality in the information age reveals itself as an illusion – for the information one receives defines the person one is allowed to become.
Good Days
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
„Good Days“ is an experimental short film that uses historical photos and stories from Macau and AI technology to explore how memory and time can be preserved and carried forward.
Invisible Women
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
„Invisible Women“ is an AI-generated video that explores the interplay of AI data, algorithms, and cultural biases
Is the art gallery a battlefield?
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
This film examines the gallery-battlefield dialectic, tracing a bullet’s ballistic arc to expose the arms-art-power nexus.
Island Man
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
„Island Man“ explores humans, digital media, and society, reflecting our loss amid the rising tide of technology. Emotions are redirected to screens, where digital fish swim but never return, raising the question: does this stimulate connection or deepen our sense of isolation.
Joan of Arc Arrives at the Hotel Intercontinental
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
The piece employs historical anachronism to conflate religious authority with star power and examine where sanctity resides in the 21st century.
John Doe
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
“I’ve gathered some old photos taken at an amusement park – one that may no longer exist, lost to the city’s relentless redevelopment. We can’t go back, but who’s to say the past won’t find us again?”
Moments When Pain Arrives
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
Using AI tools and a Chinese-inspired expressive aesthetic, this film explores pain – from everyday frustrations to profound loss.
Phantastikè
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
„Phantastikè“ explores the extensive impact of artificial intelligence on aesthetics, revealing the profound connection between technology, human emotions and aesthetic experiences.
Red Desire
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
In a world fractured by endless information, what happens when it all disappears overnight? „Red Desire“ is a dark urban fairy tale, where reality unravels and madness takes over.
The anger that breaks a man into boys
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
This short film seeks to portray the fragmentation and helplessness an individual experiences when facing an overwhelming system.
The spectacle of paradise
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
As a mythical utopia and an imagined posthumous ideal, paradise itself is not exempt from the logic of the spectacle.
Trash Boy
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
In the year 2045, rapid technological advancements have unleashed a deluge of obsolete garbage. The protagonists are low-level cyborgs who eke out a living in sprawling junkyards, salvaging and recycling discarded waste.
What Makes Us Human
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
In an era of runaway computing power, the true wisdom of the future may lie in safeguarding the “bugs” that make us human.
Which Is True
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
„WHICH IS TRUE“ is a dynamic visual artwork combining photography and AI video technology, composed of 6,859 still frames – five original photos and the rest AI-generated.
White Room, Black Square
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
„White Room, Black Square“ is an experimental video inspired by Vertov’s concept of the “mechanical eye,” exploring the materiality of images and the boundaries of digital media.
Wild Horses
Days
0
0
Hours
0
0
Minutes
0
0
Seconds
0
0
The short film „Wild Horses“ depicts the survival scenario of a group of wild horses in the future.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing art and everyday life. “AIsolation” shows 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, presented 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.
As part of “Being Alone. Artistic Perspectives from Central and East Asia and Beyond,” we are once again presenting the longlist at HAU4, along with a selection of 11 films as part of the exhibition at HAU2.
Jury members:
First round:
Shu Cao (interdisciplinary artist)
Pengyuan Gu (Program Director at the FIRST International Film Festival)
Sarah Reimann (Curator at HAU4)
Theresa Reiwer ((post)digital artist)
Second round:
Qiufan Chen (writer and futurist)
Tianzhuo Chen (multidisciplinary artist)
Katja Grawinkel-Claassen (dramaturg)
Tan Chui Mui (film director)
Inhwa Yeom (media artist)
Theresa Züger (interdisciplinary researcher in the field of artificial intelligence)
Best Artistic Innovation Award:
Before the Drop | Rosa Wernecke
Most Courageous Visionary Award:
iDent | Lazybackhome
Honorable Mention from the Jury:
Discourse on the origins of inequality among ≥ ≈ | Barcode People (Liang Qihao, Shu Tong)
Reverse Engineering Non Generic AI Poetry | Leon Keiditsch
Short Film Longlist:
Before the Drop | Rosa Wernecke
briDsunG | Lin Ziyang
Discourse on the origins of inequality among ≥ ≈ | Barcode People (Liang Qihao, Shu Tong)
Echo | Liu Ziyu
Good Days | Kam Hiu Lam Alexis
iDent | Lazybackhome
Invisible Women | OHuo (Yu Fan, Lu Song)
Is the Art Gallery a Battlefield? | Li Yuke
Island Man | Lu Shan
Joan of Arc Arrives at the Hotel Intercontinental | Meghan Smith
John Doe | Hu Qiao
Moments When Pain Arrives | Huang Jiangyan
Phantastikè | Liu Yewen, Liu Shuai
Red Desire | Yang Minto, Zhang Zhiheng, Li Dongyi, Chen Kexin
Reverse Engineering Non-Generic AI Poetry | Leon Keiditsch
The anger that breaks a man into boys | Xu Wenjun
The spectacle of paradise | Wang Hanlin
Trash Boy | Daniel Renn
What Makes Us Human | Wuyenong
Which Is True | Qi Wenlong
White Room, Black Square | Lyu Wenxuan, Liu Xinyu
Wild Horses | iRuler
Selection & Running Order of Short Films as Part of the Exhibition at HAU2:
Discourse on the origins of inequality among ≥ ≈ | Barcode People (Liang Qihao, Shu Tong)
Good Days | Kam Hiu Lam Alexis
Reverse Engineering Non-Generic AI Poetry | Leon Keiditsch
iDent | Lazybackhome
Is the art gallery a battlefield? | Li Yuke
Echo | Liu Ziyu
Island Man | Lu Shan
Invisible Women | OHuo (Yu Fan, Lu Song)
Which Is True | Qi Wenlong
Before the Drop | Rosa Wernecke
What Makes Us Human | Wuyenong
For more information about the individual films, visit HAU4.
Note:
A selection of 11 films will also be screened as part of the exhibition at HAU2.
29.5., 17:00–23:00, 30.5., 16:00–23:00, 31.5., 14:00–23:00
Date
- Wed 10.9.2025, 17:00HAU2 (to production)
- Sun 14.9.2025, 14:00HAU2 (to production)
- Fri 29.5.2026, 17:00HAU2 (to production)
- Fri 29.5.2026, 17:00HAU4
- Sat 30.5.2026, 16:00HAU2 (to production)
- Sun 31.5.2026, 14:00HAU2 (to production)
Credits
Part of “Being Alone – Artistic Perspectives from Central and East Asia and Beyond“, a project within “Solitude: Loneliness & Freedom,” an initiative of the Goethe-Institutes in East and Central Asia in cooperation with HAU Hebbel am Ufer.