The First Metahuman

2023

3D animation short film

Runtime: 08:50

Premiere: Vega Scene (Mediafabrikken – Nytt Kort project)

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Metahumans are digital copies of real humans or humans that only exist in the digital world. Unlike real humans, metahumans are not born and they don’t die. Although they function a lot like game avatars, and they don’t have any form of consciousness, the aim of the metahuman is to pose as a real human. Many are developed to replace real humans online, such as functioning as representatives, models, actors, influencers, etc.​

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Today, people talk about "body shame" and individual beauty, but many still want to achieve perfection. The desire for perfection has been transferred to the digital space. This might cause an even more unrealistic standard for perfection, because the changes that can be made to metahumans are more extreme than those that can be made to real humans. They are not dependent on reality and they often have no "original" to refer to. ​

The First Metahuman is a social commentary on the growing dichotomy between the increasing pressure of humans in society and the proliferation of our digital counterparts. It asks the question: do we need to compete with metahumans in the future?

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Writer and director: Axl Le

Producer: Ingvild Friis Bjerkeli

Music and SFX: Box of Toys Audio

CGI artist: Axl Le

2D design: Axl Le & Jeffrey Wang

Consultant editing: Odin Norum Kvistad, NFK

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Official Selection — Animac (Lleida, ES, 2024);

Official Selection — Fredrikstad Animation Festival (Fredrikstad, NO, 2024);

Official Selection — Anima (Brussels, BE, 2024);

Finalist — Minimalen Short Film

Festival (Trondheim, NO, 2024);

Shortlisted — Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (Tokyo, JP, 2024);

Shortlisted —HiShorts! Xiamen Short Film Festival (Xiamen, CN, 2024)

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