Acknowledgement of Country

SHADOW

European Film Premiere

“When artificial intelligence overtakes human intelligence, how will people be treated?”

Australia’s internationally acclaimed Back to Back Theatre, a professional theatre company with an ensemble of actors with disabilities at its core, has produced its debut feature-length film, SHADOW. Directed by Bruce Gladwin, SHADOW is a darkly humorous 56-minute film based on Back to Back Theatre’s award-winning stage play THE SHADOW WHOSE PREY THE HUNTER BECOMES (2019), which was developed, in part, at the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA, and was described by The New York Times as “extraordinary”.

Simon, Scott and Sarah, a trio of activists with intellectual disabilities, hold a town hall meeting about the future impacts of artificial intelligence. Simon, considering himself a saviour for the community, quickly appoints himself the mayor, and Scott reluctantly steps into the role of facilitator, but soon becomes enamoured with his own power and begins to dismiss the experiences of others. Sarah, often overlooked and underestimated by her counterparts, explodes, confronting the self-appointed leaders on their inadequacies. What begins as a polite discussion quickly descends into bickering and chaos, seemingly provoked by a force within. Sarah acts to unite the group, only to realise the battle to get their message across may be lost already.