Cyberpunk: Exploring Futurisms in Three Shorts

Admission to this program is free with museum admission. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

From a lone Cree wanderer in a devastated Canadian landscape to a virtual natural history museum in a post-World War III Africa to a remote migrant labor program at a closed US-Mexico border, these three short films in this program explore the vast possibilities of futurism in cinema.

This presentation celebrates the opening of Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema, an exhibition examining the science-fiction subgenre’s impact and lasting influence on global film culture. The featured short films by filmmakers Wanuri Kahiu, Danis Goulet, and Alex Rivera use cyberpunk themes to center the perspectives of marginalized peoples and imagine more liberated futures. In doing so, they criticize existing inequalities and power structures, subverting legacies of oppression, colonization, and displacement.

The screenings will be followed by a conversation with the directors, moderated by Academy Museum Vice President of Curatorial Affairs Doris Berger.

Pumzi

Directed by: Wanuri Kahiu. 2009. 21 min. South Africa, Kenya. Color. English. DCP.

Wakening

Directed by: Danis Goulet. 2013. 9 min. Canada. Color. English. DCP.

WHY CYBRACEROS?

Directed by: Alex Rivera. 1997. 5 min. USA. Color.English.

Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema is among more than 70 exhibitions and programs presented as part of PST ART. PST ART: Art & Science Collide, the latest edition of this landmark regional event, explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit pst.art.

Generous support also provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. Additional support provided by Emma Koss. The Cyberpunk mixed-reality experience is made possible thanks to Magnopus as well as Epic Games, Metastage, and Alcon Interactive Group. Academy Museum Digital Engagement Platform sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Technology solutions generously provided by Christie®.

Special thanks to the Indigenous Screen Office for program support.

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