The robots are already here. The filmmakers behind these short films have created ambitious near-future worlds for us to explore, exposing the existential threat automation poses to us all. Poke fun at the impending apocalypse with us, or take it as a serious warning as we explore possible futures and what they all mean.

Note: This collection includes one AI-generated film presented within the context of this theme.

Run Time: 85 min

Rating: M - Violence, offensive language & content that may disturb.

Please and Thank You
Science Fiction, 11m, United States
When an AI apocalypse begins, a virtual assistant risks everything to save her well-meaning user for one simple reason: he’s polite to technology.
Dir/Writ: Hal Kirkland
Prod: Taylor Björn Bro, Tony Cavalero

Seeds
Post-Apocalyptic, 17m, Australia
A young girl navigates life after the apocalypse, dealing with the loss of her parents and two strangers hell-bent on repopulating.
Dir/Writ: Harrison Pearse
Prod: Raj Labade

The City of Silence
Animation, 8m, France
In a world where breaking the silence will get you killed, Ethan discovers the healing power of music.
Dir: Marie Cornemillot, Manon Finet, Alexia Garde, Maïlys Girouard, Manon Laporte, Salomé Pereira, Milo-Clément Philipp, Margaux Plassard, Emma Stassi and Flavie Vericel

La Anciana y la Eternidad (The Old Lady and Eternity)
Mockumentary, 12m, Spain
An 86-year-old woman refuses to be uploaded to a digital afterlife, facing the consequences of defying an authoritarian regime.
Dir/Writ/Prod: Marc Martínez Jordán
Prod: Tuixén Benet Cosculluela

おかげ (Okage)
AI, 5m, Japan
A robot dog sets out on a journey to Ise Jingu Shrine, relying on strangers to recharge its battery along the way.

Note: This AI film is presented in the context of a dystopian science-fiction collection.
Dir/Writ/Prod: Daiz Keikaku

Pinball, Brooklyn
Science Fiction, 13m, United States
On the eve of his wedding, Esteban wanders into a bar and finds an old friend: a pinball machine quietly retrofitted with an AI memory system.
Dir/Writ: Geoff Sean Levy
Prod: Ian Kaplan, Sami Sheppard, Katherine Lillian Croft, Michael Kuna, Ali Webb, Carlos Flores, Denisse Jimenez

Ultra Juice
Comedy, 4m, United States
A lonely man finds friendship in an unexpected place: his new vape.
Dir/Writ/Prod: Carl Conway Maguire
Prod: Lizz Astor, Norman Magnuson

We Were Here
Comedy, 11m, India
In a crumbling Indian town, three retired men protest machines replacing human jobs by pretending to be household appliances.
Dir/Writ: Pranav Bhasin
Prod: Yash Gonsai

Contact the host of After the Robots - Show Me Shorts Film Festival