This might be one of the best reviews of the film festival so far. It points to something I've been waiting to hear for a long time. That pattern of aesthetic/cultural gatekeeping that greets every technological disruption in art history. This type of commentary always arrives right before the dam breaks. It means a lot of change is about to happen. To understand this you have to look back at the many times the establishment missed the point for all the right reasons. Take the 1863 Salon of the Rejected. The Paris Salon was arguably the greatest art event in the Western world. In 1863 they rejected 2/3 of submissions, including works by Manet, Pissarro, and Courbet because they violated traditional artistic conventions. Impressionism was wrong. Plain air was dumb and painting slop. Eventually, the rejected artists protested so loudly that Napoleon III, trying to quiet them, called for an exhibition of the rejected. That "Salon of the Rejected" eventually became more culturally powerful than the Paris Salon itself. Artist won. Then as now, artists aren't waiting for permission. They're already using these tools, experimenting. Having fun and others are enjoying them. Finding what some can't see because they're too busy looking for what they already know. (don't care if you don't like impressionism, we'll paint anyways) The review omits that many millions of many bright artists from new generations and corners of the world, plus millions of traditional ones (academy awward winners or pick any major award you want) who are all obsessed with AI for the right reasons. That's a pretty wild oversight. But also a great sign. Calling the AIFF films "empty" or "perfume ads" is just perfect. It means we are on track. Early photographs were "soulless mechanical copies." Cinema was a "fairground trick." Critics were right about what they saw. Wrong about what it meant. IMO it also points to a very selective scrutiny that has a larger meaning about control over cultural production. Who gets to make culture. Who gets to define art. Missing the point for all the right reasons. AIFF is becoming our Salon of the Rejected.