"Film criticism" Discusses the threats of artificial intelligence and the role of visual memory

The first session discussed International Film Criticism Conference 2025, organized by Film Commission at the Palace of Culture in the Embassy District in Riyadh, during the period from 7 to 9 November, the relationship between cinema and place and the role of visual memory in creating cinematic meaning, within the first day’s program that brought together an elite group of critics, filmmakers, researchers and interested people from inside and outside the Kingdom.

The first session was entitled "An interview with Italian director Marco Bellocchio, one of the most prominent directors in Contemporary Italian Cinema, speaking about his career extending from his first beginnings in the sixties of the last century with his famous film "Fists in the Pocket” in 1964 AD until his last works "“The Traitor” in 2019 AD, reviewing the artistic and intellectual transformations that shaped his directorial vision and his permanent relationship between cinema and individual memory.

Belluccio began his speech by recalling the first beginnings of his artistic formation, saying: We were breathing cinema in the fifties in Italy. We watched Fellini, Antonio and Visconti and were influenced by them.

He pointed out that Russian and European literature influenced me more than films, While European cinema influenced people of my generation, such as Bernardo Bertolucci, he also spoke about his relationship with the great actors who shared his work, stressing: I did not need to talk to the great actors like Michele Piccoli and Marcello Mastroianni, as once they understood the role, they gave the director what he wanted without any significant effort.

Acting is an emotional state

Belluccio explained that the critic forms another mirror for the director, and said: In my professional career, I have learned to appreciate critics who are not satisfied. Through evaluation, they open new windows for me on what I have created, and add details to my vision that I did not see as a director, so their presence expands the horizon and deepens understanding.

He added that a true critic does not only award grades or stars, but rather sees what the director himself did not capture, and gives the work a new life after the show.

The Italian director referred to his vision of the director’s relationship with the actor, explaining that acting is an emotional state, not a technical one, when the actor merges Emotionally with the character he embodies, the performance becomes sincere and full of life, and that is the moment in which the director realizes that the actor has found his way.

He also touched on his interest in history, saying: I love history, and in my films I try to reimagine the most important events in the history of Italy, and I give myself the freedom to deal with the events according to the requirements of the film.

Artificial Intelligence and Cinema

Belluccio addressed the future of cinema in light of the technical revolution, stressing that artificial intelligence poses a real threat to this art, but at the same time it will not It obliterates its essence, because cinema carries within it antibodies that protect it and give it the ability to resist without losing its human spirit.

And in the second session, which was titled "“Beyond Criticism: The Archive… Where Films End and Are Born Again.” Film historian Dr. Janka Barcoczi stressed that the archive is not limited to preserving films only, but is also about interpretation, context, and responsibility. It is the process in which curators, historians, researchers, and archivists engage in investigation-like work to uncover unidentified reels, trace the history of forgotten cinematic treasures, and reconstruct the missing links in the history of cinema.

It should be noted that the International Film Criticism Conference comes in its latest edition. The third focuses on the relationship between cinema and place as a major artistic and cultural axis, and is held over three days with the participation of more than 30 speakers and experts from 22 countries.

The conference is an annual platform that seeks to develop filmmaking, enhance critical and artistic awareness, and consolidate the Kingdom’s position as a regional center for the film industry and cultural dialogue.

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