AI-assisted documentary tests cinema's boundaries at Venice Film Festival

REUTERS -- A documentary charting the rise of Diesel fashion brand founder Renzo Rosso premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, becoming one of the first AI-assisted entries to test the technology’s place in mainstream cinema.

Directed by Francesco Carrozzini, Be Brave combines genuine interviews and archive footage with AI-generated video so convincing that viewers will likely struggle to realise many sequences are not real.

Concern over AI’s impact on creativity and jobs in the entertainment industry has loomed large over Venice, with several filmmakers and actors, including George Clooney, warning of the risks posed by the rapidly evolving technology.

Diesel risk taker

Be Brave producer Lorenzo Mieli acknowledged those concerns but said the industry needed to engage with AI rather than reject it outright.

“We need to regulate it, control it, prevent exploitation and prevent the disappearance of professions. But we also need to understand it very well,” he told reporters, adding that he hoped it would ultimately become just another artistic tool.

Rosso, who grew up in rural northeastern Italy, built Diesel from a small denim company into one of fashion’s most recognisable brands, establishing a reputation as a businessman who thrived on disruption and risk-taking.

“I’ve had a pretty crazy life. I’ve done some incredible things. (But) I wasn’t interested in making a film about my life, and I wasn’t interested in telling everyone how great or how cool I am,” Rosso said.

However, describing himself as a technology enthusiast, he said he embraced the idea for the documentary when he heard it would rely on AI.

“I thought, wow. This is me,” he said. “I like doing things before everybody else,” he added, recalling that he had been among the first Italian entrepreneurs to adopt tools such as fax machines and e-commerce.

Childhood brought to life

The film recreates periods of Rosso’s life for which no footage still exists, including scenes from his childhood.

“There were no images of me when I was little,” he said. “It brought tears to my eyes seeing myself as a child speaking.”

Carrozzini said AI had been used throughout the documentary, including scenes where the older Rosso had apparently appeared in flesh and bone. “Not a single frame of Renzo was filmed for this documentary,” he said.

However, interviews with the likes of fashion editor Anna Wintour and designer John Galliano are actual filmed conversations set against stylised or retouched backdrops.

Rosso rejected suggestions that the technology would eventually replace designers and artists.

“Creativity is absolutely not replaced by the machine,” he said. “Human beings remain fundamental.”

Be Brave is screening out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, which ends on Saturday.