Review: LISSA'S TRIP at Sedona International Film Festival

In an article in a distinctly different context from the world of film (for the Society of Applied Anthropology), this writer opined on the implications of new computer science technologies for all fields of enterprise: "In a future world where the religion of "dataism" (the proposition "that the universe consists of data flows and the value of any phenomenon or entity is determined by its contribution to data processing") may influence, if not control, occupations and decision-making, what is the role of the human being?"

For example, what is the role of a professor or the need of a student if "interactive algorithms" and "digital teachers" have preempted them with tailored lesson plans and analyses of student performance? What is the value of knowledge anyway if humanism becomes subservient to the "all-knowing and all-powerful" global data processing system to which we have entrusted all bits of our personal information and preferences?"

In the context of a fourth industrial revolution, where the lines between the physical, digital, and biological are intersecting, terms like AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning, and data science are becoming part of our daily lexicon.

Only recently, among the spate of articles heralding the advent of these technologies as a driving force in our lives, the New York Times's David Leonhardt (February 6th) noted that "artificial intelligence felt theoretical to many people until November [2022], when OpenAI, a technology company in San Francisco, released ChatGPT. Since then, millions of Americans have experimented with the software or read some of its output."

According to Melody Brue in the February issue of Forbes, "ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool that can create content, images and even code on demand via conversations with a chatbot. The AI-driven tool is built on OpenAI's GPT-3 family of large language models." Leonhardt again: "Some of the implications seem scary: A.I. can write a solid college essay. Other implications are exciting: Surely, a computer can learn to write more comprehensible instructions for many household gadgets than is the norm today."

As perplexing, albeit essential, it is to understand all of this terminology and discern its impacts, it is present and real and dramatic.

And, it is influencing story-telling in the arts.

Look, for example, close to home at Arizona State University's Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center where students will be making films, designing new virtual worlds and video games, and creating immersive media experiences of all kinds in a laboratory for advanced media technologies and media production.

Enter film-maker Jeffery Lando whose "psychedelic independent film," LISSA'S TRIP, boldly incorporates some of these new technologies and reflects dramatically on the individual's quest for purpose in a milieu that challenges one's relevance.

The highly imaginative and provocative film exists on a number of dimensions.

First, it is a whimsical and buoyant chronicle of an aspiring young actress's struggle for self-fulfillment. Lissa, portrayed by Sofia Vassilieva with charm and wide-eyed effervescence, is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. audition in Burbank that could signal a return from her faded career as TV personality Bird Girl. The new character is named Hawk Gal.

She is pressured by her mother (Camille Carida) and her agent (Brendan Beiser) to do well because, most certainly, their importance derives from Lissa's success.

In her frantic haste to prepare for the audition, Lissa mistakes a cannister of LSD for artificial sweetener and drops a perilous amount of grade A acid into her tea.

Despite the admonitions of Alex (Alexandra Vino), the woman who has been hosting her stay, that it's not safe for Lissa to leave the house, Lissa is determined to go. Alex's parade of horrors ~ hallucinations and suicidal ideation ~ is not enough to dissuade Lissa from her mission. Every fading star dreams of a comeback. Right? And when you get your shot, that means everything.

So, Lissa proceeds on her trip.

Second, it is here that Lando overlays a new and mind-blowing dimension to the film. At about 25 minutes into the film, the technology takes over and the viewer is winding through an urban landscape infused with a kaleidoscope of exaggerated colors, forms, sound, and monstrous shrouds.

The range of techniques that Lando has employed in the making of his film speaks to just how evolved the art and science have become: style transfer, deep dreaming, image generation, inpainting, image reconstruction, noise reduction and superscaling.

As the camera tracks Lissa's odyssey through the byways of Hollywood, the screen becomes filled with magical psychedelic impressions, all created with the tools of the new computer science technologies.

In due course, she encounters spiritual figures who move her along her path (Tygh Runyan as Pan Elope and Mandy May Cheetham as Circe). Four animated birds ~ with fanciful names ~ Sad Sam Seagull, Cross Carol Crow, Stubborn Suzee Sparrow, Meek Millie Macaw ~ cruise along Lissa's journey like avian voices of conscience and inspiration.

As Lissa descends into the underground on an escalator, grotesque images hover above her. The screen explodes in a barrage of sensory effects.

The brilliance of interconnecting Lissa's drug-induced trip with the audience's tripping that comes from the application of AI cannot be underestimated. The film becomes an adventure in exploring possibility and innovation.

It is in this regard, that Lando offers a third dimension to the film ~ Lissa's discovery and liberation of her inner self ~ a liberation from externally imposed expectations of what she should be.

In what Lando has described as a hate-love letter to Hollywood, he focuses on the audition itself and the callous disregard for talent in a world where technology can supplant human talent.

Lissa has finally made her way, albeit late, to the session. Despite her intrepid efforts to simulate the actions of Hawk Gal, the casting directors diminish her work. After all, a voice-over artist can forge the hawk sound; facial expressions can be reworked by a mask designer; a visual effects artist can handle the body shots.

Lissa's mind has virtually altered. She sees the expectations of her mother, her agent, the casting staff for what they are. Vassilieva, in a riveting and powerful moment of acting, delivers the coup de grace of the movie with a two-fisted challenge to forces that seek to control and define who we are.

First, she asks boldly, what is the role of the actor if new technology and animation can replace her? What is the point of the profession? There it is: juxtaposed with Bando's adventure in the application of AI is the existential question of what becomes of the human spirit in the age of AI?

Second, Lissa's trip has opened her to a new level of consciousness about the possibilities that lie before her. She declares independence from her mother and her agent and is prepared to proceed on a path that is self-defined. The trip is just the first step in the rest of her life.

LISSA'S TRIP is a fun and enriching film experience ~ all at once, whimsical, provocative, imaginative, and uplifting.

It is enhanced by Daryl Bennett's bouncy original score and the accompaniment of Eli Bennett's tenor saxophone. "Never Give Up" ~ an original song by Daryl Bennett, Travis "T" Turner, Jerrica Simmons with vocals by turner and Simmons ~ seals the deal with a lyrical pronouncement of the film's overarching message.

In the end, perhaps, beyond the story line, the real significance of this film is its demonstration of the versatility and power of the new technologies and the existential issues that accompany them. Kudos to Lando for taking on the challenge.

LISSA'S TRIP is one of the films to be featured at the Sedona International Film Festival, which returns for its 29th Season from February 18th to the 26th. The film (run time: 75 minutes) will be screened on Monday, February 20th at 4:00 p.m. at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre and on Friday, February 24th at 7:10 p.m. at the Harkins Sedona 6 - Theatre 2.

Photo credit to Jeffery Lando

Sedona International Film Festival ~ Saturday, February 18th- Sunday, February 26th ~ https://sedonafilmfestival.com/

2023 Film Festival Schedule @ https://sedonafilmfestival.com/2023-film-festival-schedule/ ~ Office: 2030 W. State Route 89A, Suite B-2, Sedona, AZ ~ 928-282-1177

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