Cohorte Cinéma Indépendant | Chantier IA

As part of its Chantier IA program, Sporobole is pleased to welcome Romy Boutin St-Pierre, Allison Moore and Roberto Santaguida for a 6-week creative residency in cohort mode. Working in the field of independent cinema and whose practices revolve mainly around directing or cinematography, the artists are called upon to experiment with generative AI tools and develop prototypes or sequences of works.

Romy Boutin St-Pierre

Pixel fantôme

Pixel fantôme (working title) is a dramatic short documentary exploring how artificial intelligence and digital technology are redefining our relationship with grief.

In a world where the voices, images, and even personalities of the deceased can be recreated, how far are we willing to go to keep their presence alive? Caught between memory and absence, the film examines the ethical and emotional dilemmas raised by these new technologies, which seem to offer an alternative to the void left by loss.

Blending documentary with poetic storytelling, Pixel fantôme unfolds at the boundary between reality and the virtual. Through testimonies, personal archives, and visual experimentation, it sheds light on the impact of these tools on those left behind. A continuation of the bond, a trap, or a comforting illusion?

Currently in development, this project offers a thoughtful exploration of the traces death leaves in the digital age.

📷 The Joy Luck Club (1993)

Allison Moore

Unfolding Landscapes

This project explores the potential of generative AI in experimental cinema, blending the aesthetics of scenic dioramas with AI-driven processes to create immersive, cinematic environments that reflect personal memory and surreal landscapes. In her previous work, Allison Moore adopted a layered approach, incorporating landscapes, multi-screen installations, and point clouds to reimagine spaces and evoke the resonance of place and memory.

At the core of her practice is a commitment to photographic collage techniques, through which the artist reinterpret and reconstruct the world in the form of a metaphorical landscape. In these works, sensitive beings exist in harmony with their allegorical surroundings, emphasizing the interplay between narrative and environment. By manipulating and assembling photographic images, Moore creates layered visuals that explore non-linear storytelling, spatial-temporal shifts, and textured, poetic portraits of supernatural worlds integrated within architectural or site-specific settings.

The artist’s practice often involves compositing hundreds of images into seamless, meditative video sequences in which duration and rhythm are essential to the visual language. These extended compositions allow viewers to fully immerse themselves in the dreamlike worlds she constructs.

As part of this project, the artist will experiment with AI tools in ways that resonate with the historical lineage of collage in art. Just as collage assembles fragments of reality, AI offers new possibilities for layering, recontextualizing, and reimagining imagery—potentially enriching her long-take compositions. By juxtaposing organic forms with machine-generated elements, Allison Moore aims to create surreal landscapes that merge the familiar with the uncanny while exploring how AI influences narrative pacing within an installation context.

📷 Courtesy of the artist

Roberto Santaguida

Memory Fields

Memory Fields is an experimental film project that explores fragmented memory and its evolution over time, using generative AI as a creative collaborator. The project weaves together archival materials, family photographs, and past works, which AI reinterprets to reveal hidden dimensions and construct an immersive, dreamlike narrative. Inspired by poetic prompts such as fading belonging, the project generates visual sequences and soundscapes that reflect the fluid, unpredictable nature of memory.

During the residency at Sporobole, the artist will experiment with evolving image sequences and distortions that symbolize memory’s ever-changing essence. By manipulating parameters in real-time, the project also engages with themes of AI bias and authenticity.

This collaborative work fosters an exchange of ideas and invites viewers to reflect on their own memories, identities, and experiences of loss.