Shekhar Kapur, Berlinale Chief Tricia Tuttle Warn of Creative and Operational Turbulence in AI Era at International Film Festival of India: ‘There’s Always a Phase of Overexcitement’

AI may be accelerating across the film world, but it won’t replace the craft, collaboration and human unpredictability that define cinema — that was the message from Berlinale chief Tricia Tuttle and International Film Festival of India (Iffi) director Shekhar Kapur, who warned that the technology will reshape workflows long before it matches artistic intuition.

Tuttle noted that easier access to powerful AI tools will not automatically raise artistic standards. “Tools don’t make films good. Storytelling and craftsmanship do,” she said. Kapur agreed, underscoring that AI still cannot reproduce the creative energy that emerges between actors, directors and crew in real time. Using the complexity of the eye as an example, he pointed to the nuances of human expression as areas where digital performance remains limited. “A great actor brings something unpredictable,” which is something that’s not programmable, he said.

The discussion positioned AI as the latest in…