​ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

​We each carry memories we have no photo of. This full-day workshop is about those - and the role of AI in mediating our individual and collective memories. You'll begin from a single personal memory fragment, a voice note, a photo, an object, a place, a line from a journal, an old text message, or something that only ever existed in your head, and translate it into a short film of roughly 30 to 45 seconds using AI video tools.

​The day opens with a guided visualization rather than a tool: a few minutes to drop back into the memory and notice its texture, the smell of it, who was there, what the light did. From there you choose how to render it. A hyper-realistic reconstruction, or an abstract, atmospheric interpretation that holds the feeling more than the facts. Memory isn't fixed, and neither is this. The point is to watch how it shifts, simplifies, and intensifies as it moves through cinematic language, and to sit with the questions that surface: what happens when a model trained on everyone's images becomes the thing reconstructing yours? Whose aesthetics fill the gaps, what gets smoothed away, and what does a memory become once it has passed through a machine?

​Along the way we get honest about the tools themselves: what today's cloud-based AI video tools make easy, what they take away, and the politics of choosing convenience over control. You'll leave with a short film of your own, and sharper questions about what it means to hand our memories to these systems.

​No filmmaking experience is required. Some familiarity with the language of film helps.

​Led by Herinarivo Rakotomanana, with Nadia Piet and Pablo Núñez Palma (AI Greenhouse).

​Important: to get the most from the day, we ask that you join Herinarivo's lecture the evening before (sign up here). We start from a shared understanding and go deeper together from there.

​WHAT TO BRING

​Please bring your own laptop. All tools and access will be provided on the day.

​PRACTICALITIES

​📍 Netherlands Film Academy, Amsterdam
🗓 Friday 9 October 2026
⏰ Full-day workshop (approx. 6 hours, with a lunch break)
💰 Free attendance
🎫 RSVP required
💺 Around 30 seats, allocated by selection. RSVP to sign up; selected participants are notified by email ahead of the workshop, with remaining spots filled on a rolling basis. If you have any accessibility needs, reach out and we'll work out how to accommodate them.

​ABOUT HERINARIVO

​Herinarivo Rakotomanana's practice unfolds between introspective fiction films and music videos with independent artists. Since the early days of GANs, he has been exploring the latent space of AI-generated imagery, weaving sensorial cinema and visual experimentation, from photorealistic film to animation. Awarded across international film and generative media festivals, including Best Technical Achievement at BIFAN 2025 for his AI-animated More Tears Than Harm, his work bridges technological experimentation with personal storytelling, focusing on intimate themes and memories. He has led talks and masterclasses for animation festivals and high-end fashion brands, and is currently in development on his debut feature film. Find more of his work at herinarivorakotomanana.com and /herinarivo.

​ABOUT AI GREENHOUSE

​AI Greenhouse is a two-year collaboration between the Netherlands Film Academy and AIxDESIGN to research and cultivate more responsible approaches to AI in filmmaking and film education. Led by artist-researchers Nadia Piet and Pablo Núñez Palma, AI Greenhouse organizes public event programmes, runs artistic experiments, and works towards a Creative's AI Literacy Cookbook: a set of experimental pedagogy practices for the ethical, sustainable, and community-driven integration of AI in filmmaking.

​ABOUT THE NETHERLANDS FILM ACADEMY

​The Netherlands Film Academy (NFA) is part of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, and the only film school in the Netherlands that trains emerging filmmakers across every subdiscipline: directing, screenwriting, cinematography, editing, sound, production design, visual effects, and interactive media. Based in Amsterdam, it offers hands-on, collaborative education with strong industry partnerships.

​ABOUT AIxDESIGN

​AIxDESIGN (AIxD) is an independent organization conducting critical and creative research on AI. We challenge mainstream tech narratives by making space for the rest of us, centering intersectional, inclusive, and ethical approaches through community-led projects. Learn more at aixdesign.co.