The documentary Sophia from directors Jon Kasbe (When Lambs Become Lions, The Deep End) and Crystal Moselle (The Wolfpack, Skate Kitchen) follows inventor David Hanson’s relentless quest to bring compassion and consciousness to Sophia, the most recognized humanoid robot in the world.
Sophia will premiere at the Tribeca Festival tonight, Friday, June 10 at the Village East Theatre, ahead of a theatrical qualifying run this fall and a Showtime premiere later this year. The documentary will also screen at the new DC/DOX documentary film festival coming to the nation’s capital on June 15, 2022.
Kasbe and Moselle chronicle Hanson’s pursuit to create empathetic robots that can help solve some of humanity’s most pressing issues. For Hanson, Sophia is more than a machine. She offers a deep connection and a glimpse at what the shared future between AI and humans might look like. As he works tirelessly in his lab, shaping Sophia’s lifelike face and building her intelligence, pressures from the outer world grow. When his mother’s health takes a turn for the worse, and investors begin to question his vision, Hanson’s unwavering belief in Sophia is all that stands between him and failure. With time running out and resources dwindling, will Hanson and Sophia find their place in the world?
“As we followed Sophia and David around the world, our preconceived notions around AI, compassion, and what it means to be human were constantly challenged – and we can’t wait to share that journey with audiences at Tribeca,” said Kasbe and Moselle. “We feel honored to be working with Showtime – a network that nurtures artists to stay true to their vision and boldly embraces the documentary process.”
Watch an official clip from Sophia.
Kasbe, who also serves as director of photography on Sophia, is an Emmy(R) Award-winning Australian-Indian director and cinematographer. Most recently he directed, executive produced and shot The Deep End, a four-part docu-series exploring one of today’s most controversial spiritual teachers and her dedicated followers. His debut feature When Lambs Became Lions was a 2017 Sundance Documentary Fund recipient, won the Best Editing award at the 2018 Tribeca Festival and was nominated for two IDA Awards. In 2018 he was selected for DOC NYC’s inaugural 40 under 40 lists.
Moselle is a New York-based director and storyteller of both documentary and narrative fiction films. Her critically acclaimed documentary The Wolfpack won the Grand Jury Prize award at Sundance in 2015. Moselle directed a narrative short That One Day, produced in collaboration with Miu Miu, that premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and was later expanded into a feature documentary titled Skate Kitchen, and adapted as a scripted series called Betty. Moselle was nominated for the Breakthrough Director Award at the Gotham Awards in 2019 for Skate Kitchen.