I'm Not a Robot (film)
{{short description|2023 short film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{For|the TV series|I'm Not a Robot}}
{{Infobox film
| name = I'm Not a Robot
| image = I'm Not a Robot film poster.jpg
| caption = Promotional poster
| native_name = {{Infobox name module|nl|Ik ben geen robot}}
| director = {{Plainlist|
- Victoria Warmerdam
}}
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Henry Gillet
- Wim Goossens
- Trent
}}
| writer = {{Plainlist|
- Victoria Warmerdam
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- Ellen Parren
- Henry van Loon
- Thekla Reuten
- Juliette van Ardenne
- Asma El Mouden
}}
| music = Merlijn Snitker
| cinematography = Martijn van Broekhuizen
| editing = {{Plainlist|
- Michiel Boesveldt
}}
| studio = {{Plainlist|
- OAK Motion Pictures
- The Y-House
- Bulletproof Cupid
}}
| distributor = The New Yorker
| released = {{Film date|2023|9|23|df=y|NFF}}
| runtime = 22 minutes
| country = {{Plainlist|
- Belgium
- Netherlands
}}
| language = Dutch
| budget =
}}
I'm Not a Robot ({{langx|nl|Ik ben geen robot}}) is a 2023 Dutch-language short science fiction drama film written and directed by Victoria Warmerdam. It stars Ellen Parren as a woman who plunges into a strange new reality after she fails a series of CAPTCHA tests.
An international co-production between Belgium and the Netherlands, I'm Not a Robot had its world premiere at the Netherlands Film Festival on 23 September 2023, and was made available for streaming via the YouTube channel of The New Yorker on 15 November 2024. It won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2025, becoming the first Dutch short film to do so.
Plot
Dutch music producer Lara is listening to Scala & Kolacny Brothers' cover of Radiohead's "Creep" at work when a system update forces her to restart her laptop. The update presents her with a series of CAPTCHA tests, which she repeatedly fails despite inputting the correct answers. Frustrated, she calls tech support. The voice on the other end suggests that Lara can't get through because she is a robot and tells her that she would not "be the first to find out this way". The voice hangs up after refusing to assist her.
Lara fails more tests and is then redirected to another test that asks a series of arbitrary questions, including whether she feels like an outsider and whether her partner is wealthy; when she confirms that her parents died in an accident before she was old enough to remember them, the test responds that they most likely never existed. When she completes the test, it concludes that there is an 87% chance she is a robot and welcomes her to the "bot community". Disturbed, she leaves her desk.
Lara videocalls her boyfriend Daniël and tells him the result of the test, but he awkwardly makes an excuse and ends the call. In a work meeting about affirmative action, Lara is distracted as she continually attempts to contact Daniël. He later visits her at work alongside a woman who introduces herself as Pam, who informs Lara that she is indeed a robot and was chosen by Daniël five years earlier to be his girlfriend. Daniël attempts to assure Lara that she still has emotions and autonomy, but she feels used and goes to the roof of the nearby multi-storey car park.
Daniël goes after Lara and begs her not to throw away their relationship. He reveals that the only thing setting Lara apart from a human is that she is programmed to die shortly after Daniël does, since he was unwilling to mourn her "again", but tells her that she still has the freedom to leave him. Lara questions him about his deceased girlfriend Olivia and ponders what would happen if she attempted suicide. Pam appears and asserts that Lara is incapable of ending her life if Daniël doesn't want her to. Desperate, Lara jumps from the roof. Shortly after hitting the ground, she begins to bleed out, but quickly regains consciousness. Credits roll as the cover of "Creep" plays again.
Cast
- Ellen Parren as Lara
- Henry van Loon as Daniël
- Thekla Reuten as Pam
- Juliette van Ardenne as Collega
- Asma El Mouden as Saar
- Sophie Höppener as Sollicitant Billy
- Joep Vermolen as Klusjesman
- Sieger Sloot as Klantenservice medewerker
Production
An international co-production between Belgium and the Netherlands,{{cite web |url=https://www.filmfestival.nl/film/ik-ben-geen-robot |title=I'm Not a Robot |publisher=Netherlands Film Festival |access-date=January 24, 2025|language=nl}} the film was shot on 2-perf 35 mm with Kodak film stock in an Aaton Penelope camera.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19837932/ The shots featuring the stunt at the end were filmed in 3-perf format with an Arriflex 235 camera. The film was produced with a carbon neutral approach; in addition to ensuring that pre-production and filming were conducted as sustainable as possible under the guidance of a sustainability manager, a food forest was planted in the Netherlands to offset the production's emissions. Principal photography ran from 5{{endash}}15 May 2023 and took place at locations in Belgium such as Dilbeek, Leuven, and Watermael-Boitsfort. The office scenes were filmed in the CBR Building in Watermael-Boitsfort.
Release
I'm Not a Robot had its world premiere in the Golden Calf Competition at the Netherlands Film Festival on 23 September 2023. It also featured at the 56th Sitges Film Festival in October 2023,{{cite web|url=https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/noticies/56th-edition-award-winners|title=56th Edition Award Winners|website=Sitges Film Festival|access-date=24 January 2025}} the Leuven International Short Film Festival in December 2023,{{cite web|url=https://www.kortfilmfestival.be/archief-film/?id=17263&editie=2023|title=Short Film Festival Leuven - I'm not a robot|website=Leuven International Short Film Festival|access-date=24 January 2025|language=nl}} the Australian Flickerfest on 23 January 2024,{{cite web |url=https://flickerfest.com.au/programme/best-of-international-shorts-4-2024/ |title=Best Of International Shorts 4 – 2024 |publisher=Flickerfest |access-date=24 January 2025}} the 42nd Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in April 2024,{{Cite web|url=https://www.bifff.net/palmares-2024/ |title= Palmares 2024 - BIFFF |date=21 April 2024|access-date=24 January 2025 |website= Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival |language=en}} the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films on 7 June 2024,{{cite web |url=https://www.psfilmfest.org/shortfest-2024/film-finder/im-not-a-robot |title= I'm Not a Robot |publisher=Palm Springs International Film |access-date=24 January 2025}} the 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival{{Cite web|url=https://www.bifan.kr/eng/bifan/history_program_view.asp?sc_category1=&sc_year=2024&pk_seq=6830 |title= I'm Not a Robot|date=14 July 2024|access-date=24 January 2025 |website=Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival |language=en}} and the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada in July 2024,{{cite web |url=https://fantasiafestival.com/en/festival-2024/program/movies|title=All Films|website=Fantasia Festival |access-date=24 January 2025}}{{cite web |url=https://fantasiafestival.com/en/film/im-not-a-robot|title=I'm Not a Robot|website=Fantasia International Film Festival |access-date=24 January 2025}} and the Oscar-qualifying program of the Bend Film Festival on 11 October 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://bendfilm.org/news/2024-bend-film-festival-oscar-qualifying-short-film-programs-announced/ |title= 2024 Bend Film Festival: Oscar-Qualifying Short Film Programs Announced!|date=October 11, 2024|access-date=January 24, 2025 |website= Bend Film Festival |language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://bendfilmfestival2024.eventive.org/films/66956d08983f6600b1598168 |title= 2024 Bend Film Festival: I'm Not a Robot!|date=October 11, 2024|access-date=January 24, 2025 |website= Bend Film Festival |language=en}}
The film was made available for streaming via the YouTube channel of The New Yorker on 15 November 2024.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/screening-room/a-woman-wonders-if-shes-human-in-im-not-a-robot |title= A Woman Wonders if She's Human in "I'm Not a Robot" |author=Victoria Warmerdam |date=15 November 2024|access-date=24 January 2025 |magazine= The New Yorker |language=en}}
Reception
I'm Not a Robot won the award for Best Short Film at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in July 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bifan.kr/eng/bifan/history_program_view.asp?sc_category1=&sc_year=2024&pk_seq=6830 |title= I'm Not a Robot|date=14 July 2024|access-date=24 January 2025 |website=Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival |language=en}} It won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2025,{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/02/movies/oscars-academy-awards |title=Kieran Culkin Wins Best Supporting Actor for 'A Real Pain' |date=March 2, 2025 |last=Barnes |first=Barnes |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 2, 2025}} becoming the first Dutch short film to win the latter.{{cite web|language=nl|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2557997-oscar-voor-nederlandse-korte-film-ik-ben-geen-robot-anora-wint-meeste-prijzen|title=Oscar voor Nederlandse korte film Ik ben geen robot, Anora wint meeste prijzen|website=NOS|date=March 3, 2025|access-date=March 3, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250303142206/https://nos.nl/artikel/2557997-oscar-voor-nederlandse-korte-film-ik-ben-geen-robot-anora-wint-meeste-prijzen|archive-date=March 3, 2025}}
Trivia
In 2022, Jason Speir's short film I Am Not a Robot was released with the same theme.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18349602/?ref_=nm_knf_t_1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtkXbPjHOQohttps://filmfreeway.com/ImNotARobot2022
Accolades
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official|https://oakmotionpictures.com/films/im-not-a-robot/}}
- {{IMDb title|tt19837932}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VrLQXR7mKU Official film] on YouTube for The New Yorker
{{Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film}}
Category:2023 science fiction films
Category:Dutch science fiction films