On 09/05/1982, directors Jorge Caballero and Camilo Restrepo present what appears to be found footage of home movies from an unnamed Latin American city in 1982. The film unfolds through decaying, grainy 16mm-like images—children drumming amid rubble, a parrot in a cage, fruit vendors, and reflections of palm trees in a swimming pool—capturing the rhythms of daily life.
Mixed in are images that appear to depict the aftermath of a violent incident: burning tires, graffiti reading “Matanza del 9 de Mayo,” and homes on fire. As we process more images, a radio announcer calmly delivers the government’s “official” account of a student protest turned violent, claiming foreign interference and necessary state intervention. The tone of authority contrasts sharply with the unease in the images, suggesting a potentially deeper conspiracy beneath the surface.
“A radio announcer calmly delivers the government’s ‘official’ account of a student protest turned violent, claiming foreign interference and necessary state intervention.”
09/05/1982 demonstrates how AI can be used to manipulate our collective memory, even history. In this short, no actual recovered footage was used; instead, a digital fabrication—a “synthetic footage film” generated entirely through artificial intelligence. By presenting false archival material as historical evidence, Caballero and Restrepo show how modern AI tools can “distort collective memory and alter the course of history itself.” The piece raises questions about authenticity, propaganda, and the fragile bond between images and truth. Through its eerie realism and chilling verisimilitude, 09/05/1982 transforms an invented past into a meditation on how we see, remember, and believe.
The debate over the use of AI rages more fiercely today than ever before. It is chilling how easily AI can replicate old films from the past. Can you imagine if these tools were used to “alter” stories like the Holocaust and other atrocities by merely intermingling fake images with real ones? We’re already here, but when will it be too late to control what is true and what is false? Or is this all a conspiracy?
For more information about 09/05/1982, visit its official page at the New York Film Festival.
"…We’re already here..."
