Book of the Machines, Dani Galʼs new film, explores the fear of and fascination with the other by looking at automatons, primitive mechanical robots popular in the 19th century. Close-ups of these exoticized figures and their racial stereotypes are accompanied by excerpts from Samuel Butler’s novel Erewhon (1872), which describes a society that has banned all machines after recognizing that they might take over the world. This resonates with today’s debates on AI and its potentially demonic powers.
Written and Directed by Dani Gal
Camera: Itay Marom
Voice: Alix Martin
