Synopsis
As the climate crisis becomes increasingly urgent, and artificial intelligence expands exponentially, FREM presents a striking and sometimes uncomfortable reaction to the current wave of post-humanist, anthropocentric thinking. A unique and wildly experimental documentary, Viera Čákanyová’s film provides a haunting and futurist portrayal of one of the most beautiful yet extreme landscapes on earth: King George Island off the coast of Antarctica.
A word from Tënk
A series of visual and audio glitches, which also affect the subtitles, disrupt communication. Through a mechanical-looking camera, perhaps a drone piloted by artificial intelligence, the images take us to Antarctica, where birds and marine mammals populate a landscape of snow, ice and cold water. The echo of a society seems to manifest itself in a complex and rather enigmatic soundtrack, while a human presence finally pierces the landscape. Released in 2019, FREM is the starting point of a fascinating trilogy. With narrative and aesthetic originality, this experimental documentary brings the climate crisis and the rise of artificial intelligence into dialogue, two elements that will inspire the filmmaker's insightful creative thinking in subsequent works like White on White (2021) and Notes From Eremocene (2023).
Hubert Sabino-Brunette
Artistic codirector, RIDM
