AI on Screen premiere: “Sweetwater” short film explores new AI narratives
It's been an inspiring few months since we first unveiled the AI on Screen short film program with Range Media Partners. What began as a bold concept — commissioning filmmakers to explore the complex relationship between humanity and AI — has rapidly transformed into "lights, camera, action," a star-studded premiere and in-depth discussions with filmmakers.
Production has officially wrapped on “Sweetwater,” our inaugural short film to come out of the program, directed by and starring Michael Keaton Douglas, written and scored by Sean Douglas, also starring Kyra Sedgwick. “Sweetwater” is the moving story of a late celebrity’s son who, on a visit to his childhood home, unexpectedly encounters a holographic AI representation of his mother, forcing him to reckon with her digital afterlife and his unresolved grief.
The premiere event at Cinema Village in New York brought together the entertainment and arts communities for a screening and a post-show discussion with Sean Douglas and his father, Michael Keaton Douglas, that dove into the thought-provoking themes at the heart of the film.
Movie star Michael Keaton Douglas and his son Sean Douglas at the red carpet screening of Sweetwater
Moderated by movie critic Joe Neumaier, the Q&A examined the film’s themes of grief, family dynamics, how technology can amplify human emotion in unexpected ways and what compelled the father-son duo to contribute a script to the AI on Screen short film program.
Michael Keaton Douglas and Sean Douglas in discussion about Sweetwater with moderator Joe Neumaier
As AI moves out of science fiction and into our everyday lives, narrative films present a powerful opportunity to explore and showcase how we want to coexist with this technology. Film can not only shape our popular imagination, it can also spark important societal conversations, such as those around the growing trend of generative ghosts—the digital preservation of our loved ones—a concept central to this short film.
As “Sweetwater” now prepares for a film festival run, we’re more committed than ever to the AI on Screen initiative and our goal of supporting a diverse range of voices exploring this pivotal moment in technology and storytelling. Stay tuned for more updates on “Sweetwater” and our second commissioned film, “Lucid,” coming soon.
