Description
Synopsis:
At the intersection of art and science, L’année du robot (Year of the robot) depicts the human being and the robot as its artificial counterpart. As a series of archival documents detailing the first contacts and dialogue between a robot gifted with an artificially created autonomy and human beings, it studies cognitive dissonance; a minute, mysterious, relational space sitting between the two actors.
It involves elderly people sometimes afflicted with Alzheimer’s or dementia, or young adults with autism or neurological problems.
Once past the surprise phase and aware of the artificial nature of the robot’s functioning, the residents try, despite everything, to forge bonds with it.
About the director:
Yves Gellie was born in Bordeaux, France, on September 16th, 1953.
After medical studies at the University of Bordeaux, he practiced tropical medecine in Gabon for two years. He began his career in photo-journalism with a feature about cocaine production in Colombia, followed by a story about war refugees in Ogaden, Somalia.
His work being between Documentary and Contemporary Art, he has developed a style described as an iconographic selection of the reality underlying the day- to-day life and its trivial aspects.
In 2008 he undertakes a major project on world of major scientific research laboratories dedicated to the development of humanoid robots.
Year of the robot is his first film.