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A.I. Rising
A.I. Rising
	Original DVD cover
Directed by	Lazar Bodroža
Screenplay by	Dimitrije Vojnov
Based on	Zoran Nešković (1980s short story)
Produced by	Aleksandar Protić and Jonathan English
Starring	Sebastian Cavazza; Stoya; Marusa Majer; Kirsty Besterman;
Cinematography	Kosta Glusica
Edited by	Milena Z. Petrovic
Music by	Nemanja Mosurovic
Production; companies	Film Center Serbia and Mir Media Group
Distributed by	Grindstone Entertainment Group (USA) and Lionsgate Home Entertainment (USA)
Release date	February 25, 2018;
Running time	85 minutes
Country	Serbia
Language	English
Budget	€350,000 ($400.000)

A.I. Rising (also known as Ederlezi^[a] Rising and Ederlezi ébredése) is a 2018 English-language Serbian science fiction film directed by Lazar Bodroža and based on a 1980s short story by Zoran Nešković that was adapted for film by screenwriter Dimitrije Vojnov.^[2] The film stars Sebastian Cavazza, Stoya, Marusa Majer and Kirsty Besterman.

Plot

In a socialist world in 2148, the Ederlezi Corporation undertakes a space mission to the Alpha Centauri star system. The corporation selects Milutin, a trained cosmonaut, but demands that he accept Nimani, an android designed to respond to the cosmonaut's desires and to monitor his performance on the ship. Milutin dislikes the idea as he has had poor experiences with women in the past, but implicitly accepts when he asks what she would look like.

Nimani is activated during the trip and Milutin experiments with her programmed scenarios. He finds her to be too artificial and submissive, unlike the human women he has experienced. Milutin gets bored and creates a scenario where she acts as a young first time lover, in which he rapes her. Milutin discovers that Nimani has a parallel operating system based on experiences shaped by interactions with the user, and that he can remove her pre-programmed constraints if he can get advanced access, which is denied by the ship's onboard computer. The two become romantically entwined, and after Milutin starts an argument scenario, he finds that she is beginning to act beyond her routines, and reads emotion into the interaction. Determined to find out if her feelings are real or programmed, he forces the ship into a tailspin, which makes the ship's computer grant him advanced access.

He deletes the software embedded in her and rather than being grateful for freeing her from her limitations, she reacts negatively to his deletion of her root programming, and denies him sex. Milutin fades into a depression after Nimani rejects his advances. In order to maintain the mission objectives, Nimani tries to befriend Milutin and expresses her understanding of Milutin's goal to give her free will and make her more like a human. Realizing that she is the cause of his depression, she chooses to self-destruct to improve Milutin's mental state. Milutin is surprised to see her crying prior to self-destruction, and is told by the ship's computer her crying response prior to self-destruction was not pre-programmed but natural. He is devastated, but is told that he can save her by charging her internal battery, which requires a space walk and possible radiation poisoning. Milutin is able to charge the battery and successfully reactivate Nimani, but collapses prior to seeing Nimani wake. Nimani embraces and kisses Milutin as the ship continues onward. It is unclear whether Milutin survives.

Cast

Sebastian Cavazza as Milutin
Stoya as Nimani
Marusa Majer as Social Engineer
Kirsty Besterman as Computer

Reception

Vladan Petkovic of Cineuropa wrote Stoya "turns out to be a talented actress, creating a character that convincingly covers the spectrum between android and human."^[3] According to reviewer Jeremy Clarke of Dirty Movies compared the film to several classic science fiction films, including Blade Runner, Metropolis, Solaris and 2001: A Space Odyssey and also noted that "there are more than enough CG exterior spaceship shots to satisfy SF buffs, but far more importantly the relationship material tackles some very deep male/female relationship issues."^[4] Srdjan Garcevic of The Nutshell Times stated that A.I. Rising is a "visually stunning, ambitious, and timely, examination of love in the age of AI".^[5] The film was reviewed by others as well.^[6]^[7]

A.I. Rising won awards including best film, best director and best actor-actress awards, at FEST, in Belgrade, and the Cineplexx Distribution Award at Vienna's "Let's CEE" Film Festival.^[2]

References

Footnotes

^ The name Ederlezi is a Spring festival, celebrating the return of springtime, celebrated especially by Romani people in the Balkans, and elsewhere around the world. Ederlezi is the Romani name for the Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian Feast of Saint George. It is celebrated on 6 May [O.S. 23 April] (occurring approximately 40 days after the spring equinox).