Abstract
In a world where urban ruins and post-industrial landscapes are increasingly viewed as relics of obsolescence, The Sun is Shining above the Clouds emerges as an evocative, multi-layered film script about abandonment, renewal, and intersections of human and machine narratives. Grounded in field trips and discussions by the European Forum for Advanced Practices’ Context Working Group, this script transcends conventional disciplinary boundaries, weaving together ethnographic research, speculative fiction, and cinematic storytelling. The paper critically examines the filmscript’s use of abandonment as a motif to discuss larger issues of sustainability, post-industrial adaptation, and technological obsolescence. The ruins become a metaphor for the cyclical nature of human ambition, where once-celebrated innovations succumb to redundancy, much like AI projects poised on the precipice of relevance and decay. The script also introduces a powerful speculative element, an AI ghost, flickering with digital glitches, speaking from the ruins of abandoned data centers. This voice-from-the-future serves as both a warning and a reflection on the ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence, echoing the impermanence of human endeavors. By intertwining ethnographic exploration with speculative storytelling, The Sun is Shining above the Clouds script invites a reconsideration of the spaces we leave behind. It challenges the reader to reflect on the material and digital detritus of human civilization, questioning how past innovations shape, or haunt, our futures. As the research for the film script unfolds, it suggests that ruins are not merely sites of decay but landscapes of emergent possibility, where new meanings, narratives, and futures are forged.
Presenters
Adnan HadziAssociate Professor, Departement of Digital Arts, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—From Democratic Aesthetics to Digital Culture
KEYWORDS
Artificial Intelligence, Abandonment, Virtual Reality, Media Studies, Speculative Art
