EXCLUSIVE: Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival, Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco said he sees AI as an inevitable tool rather than a threat. “AI is something that’s coming whether we like it or not. There’s no point in being scared of it – it’s better to come to terms with it,” he told Deadline.
Though he hasn’t used AI yet — “not even ChatGPT” — Franco said he would welcome its practical applications, such as restoring continuity in scenes or replacing time-consuming ADR sessions. “Whatever makes things easier or cheaper or more feasible, then I would welcome it, and I would be silly not to use it,” he noted, while also acknowledging concerns about job loss and the difficulty in distinguishing AI-generated art from human work.
Franco, who is in Sarajevo presenting his latest film Dreams starring Jessica Chastain and receiving the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award, also revealed he is working on his first documentary. Shot partly in Poland, the project explores themes of fascism and the Second World War.
“I fear fascism far more than AI,” Franco said. “It’s something we can confront and control.”
