Amsterdam · The Netherlands Film Academy
Hosted by AIxDESIGN
Explore how filmmakers can direct generative AI without eliminating chance at this free artist lecture in Amsterdam on 8 October 2026. At the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam, filmmaker Herinarivo Rakotomanana will share a practical and candid account of authorship in the age of generative video. Rather than treating unpredictability as a technical flaw, his practice makes it part of the directorial process: setting boundaries, responding to unexpected results and discovering what happens when the machine returns a different frame from the one imagined. From visual DNA to virtual scouting Rakotomanana will trace this approach through several of his films and commercial projects: - More Tears Than Harm, a painterly animation built from personal memories, demonstrates how he establishes a consistent “visual DNA”, controls staging and retains organic, hand-painted imperfections. The film received Best Technical Achievement at BIFAN 2025. - Mirage Deux Mille introduces his “Run and Go” method of virtual scouting, in which accidental details can expand a scene and help the story find its direction. - Lazy Bird connects his earlier physical filmmaking, moving a real camera around a dancer, with the boundary conditions he now creates for AI-driven movement. - Mora Mora and Inko provide the basis for a practical, multi-tool commercial workflow. Coming from analog street photography and music-video directing, Rakotomanana has explored AI-generated imagery since the early days of GANs. His work moves between photorealistic film, animation, sensorial cinema and intimate personal storytelling. He is currently developing his debut feature film and has delivered talks and masterclasses for animation festivals and high-end fashion brands. See more at herinarivorakotomanana.com or on YouTube. Format and audience The evening combines an artist lecture, audience Q&A and informal drinks. It will be particularly relevant to directors, filmmakers, animators, visual artists, creative technologists and anyone investigating how AI changes creative control. The focus is not simply on tools, but on artistic process, improvisation, aesthetic consistency and responsible approaches to AI filmmaking. Schedule: View the event and registration details
