Donatella Della Ratta & The Void
Tuesday, August 12th, 18:00-19:00
BaseCamp PopUp / Playground
Istituto Sant’Eugenio
Via al Sasso 1, Locarno
“ASK ME FOR THOSE UNBORN PROMISES THAT MAY SEEM UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN IN THE NATURAL #3 2025”
Live Video Essay Performance by Donatella Della Ratta & The Void (Tommaso Campagna & Jordi Viader Guerrero)
In an era where images no longer need to be real to feel true, generative AI floods our visual field with scenes that never happened—but easily could have. These synthetic visions, unmoored from historical fact or material reference, don’t just imagine alternative realities—they rewrite them. This live performance dives into the unsettling aesthetics of AI-powered media, where fiction wears the skin of plausibility and speculation becomes a tool of erasure. From blatant fabrications to quiet distortions, it maps how these images enact a new kind of violence— subtle, seamless, and devastatingly effective. Focusing on their use in the war on Palestine, the session exposes how AI-generated visuals weaponize possibility itself, extending conflict into the realm of the not-yet-real and calling into ques- tion what counts as evidence, truth, or memory.
This lecture performance is part of Donatella Della Ratta’s research project “In- telligenza Artificiale e Nuove Forme di Violenza: Etica, Estetica, e Politica nell’Ep- oca del Realismo Sintetico” granted by the Italian Council program (2024–2025).
The Future of Reality is the second edition of the Future of Cinema Conference at Locarno Film Festival, an initiative jointly organized by Locarno Factory and Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). Taking place from August 11 to 13, 2025, during the 78ᵗʰ edition of the Festival, the Conference – made possible with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation – is a central platform for critical dialogue and creative exploration of the future of cinema.
This year’s theme – the future of reality – brings together leading scholars, filmmakers, and artists to examine how generative AI, algorithmic media, and evolving forms of nonfiction reshape our perceptions of truth and representation. Through panels, performances, and live events, the Conference engages with urgent topics such as algorithmic storytelling, misinformation, and the politics of the archive.
Donatella Della Ratta & The Void
Tuesday, August 12th, 18:00-19:00
BaseCamp PopUp / Playground
Istituto Sant’Eugenio
Via al Sasso 1, Locarno
“ASK ME FOR THOSE UNBORN PROMISES THAT MAY SEEM UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN IN THE NATURAL #3 2025”
Live Video Essay Performance by Donatella Della Ratta & The Void (Tommaso Campagna & Jordi Viader Guerrero)
In an era where images no longer need to be real to feel true, generative AI floods our visual field with scenes that never happened—but easily could have. These synthetic visions, unmoored from historical fact or material reference, don’t just imagine alternative realities—they rewrite them. This live performance dives into the unsettling aesthetics of AI-powered media, where fiction wears the skin of plausibility and speculation becomes a tool of erasure. From blatant fabrications to quiet distortions, it maps how these images enact a new kind of violence— subtle, seamless, and devastatingly effective. Focusing on their use in the war on Palestine, the session exposes how AI-generated visuals weaponize possibility itself, extending conflict into the realm of the not-yet-real and calling into ques- tion what counts as evidence, truth, or memory.
This lecture performance is part of Donatella Della Ratta’s research project “In- telligenza Artificiale e Nuove Forme di Violenza: Etica, Estetica, e Politica nell’Ep- oca del Realismo Sintetico” granted by the Italian Council program (2024–2025).
The Future of Reality is the second edition of the Future of Cinema Conference at Locarno Film Festival, an initiative jointly organized by Locarno Factory and Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). Taking place from August 11 to 13, 2025, during the 78ᵗʰ edition of the Festival, the Conference – made possible with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation – is a central platform for critical dialogue and creative exploration of the future of cinema.
This year’s theme – the future of reality – brings together leading scholars, filmmakers, and artists to examine how generative AI, algorithmic media, and evolving forms of nonfiction reshape our perceptions of truth and representation. Through panels, performances, and live events, the Conference engages with urgent topics such as algorithmic storytelling, misinformation, and the politics of the archive.