Skip to main content
The Thinking Game film image; man touching a spiral art sculpture

The Thinking Game

Insights

This event has passed

Canadian Premiere

Will Artificial Intelligence change the world on the scale of the Industrial Revolution, or is it an overhyped tech bubble ready to burst? DeepMind cofounder Demis Hassabis is convinced that AI will prove a great leap forward, and he’s dedicated his life to developing responsible AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). The Thinking Game traces Hassabis’ interest in AI from his childhood as an international chess prodigy to his teenage years working on groundbreaking video games, to his graduate work in neuroscience at Cambridge, and eventually, his work with DeepMind, one of the most successful and innovative AI research companies.

Through in-depth interviews, cutting-edge technological demonstrations, and the unrelenting enthusiasm and determination of Hassabis, this follow-up to 2017’s Alpha Go chronicles DeepMind’s successes and failures, from humble beginnings, an AI that could barely play Pong, to one that solved a breakthrough protein-folding problem that could revolutionize biology research. Like Robert Oppenheimer, Hassabis has a single-minded urgency to reshape the world, while knowing that he could be unleashing a devastating new force upon humanity.

 

Media Partner

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

USA

Year

2024

Language

English

Film Contact
18+
83 min
Documentary
Cityspeak Films

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Tom Dore, Jonathan Fildes

Producer

Gary Krieg

Cinematography

Greg Kohs

Editor

Steve Sander

Original Music

Dan Deacon

Greg Kohs headshot; The Thinking Game director

Greg Kohs

Greg Kohs is a ten-time Emmy®-winning filmmaker whose real-as-dirt storytelling has been brought to bear in all his award-winning documentaries, including Song Sung Blue (2008), The Great Alone (2015), AlphaGo (2017), Coin (2022), and latest, The Thinking Game (2024) the story of a visionary scientist’s quest to solve AGI.

Filmography: Song Sung Blue (2008); The Great Alone (2015); AlphaGo (2017); Coin (2022

Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre

NAZA
Naza film image; two people sitting in a foggy night with skyscrapers in the background

NAZA

Dir. Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
80 min

NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
The History of Concrete
The History of Concrete film image; man smoothing just-poured concrete sidewalk

The History of Concrete

Dir. John Wilson
101 min

After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
La Bola Negra
La Bola Negra film image; man playing a trumpet

La Bola Negra

Dir. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
155 min

A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Shadow of a Doubt

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
108 min

In our latest film studies series, FRAMEWORK, Michael van den Bos explores the work of Alfred Hitchcock across four monochrome masterworks. This week: smalltown US thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943), one of the director's personal favourites.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Best Years of Our Lives

Dir. William Wyler
170 min

One of the finest films to come out of WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives sympathetically conveys the difficulties returning veterans faced in readjusting to life at home. It won 7 of the top Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Actor.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Ray Gunn (Special Advance Screening with Brad Bird)

Dir. Brad Bird
119 min

In an alternate future as seen from 1939, a private eye (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star (Scarlett Johansson). Followed by a moderated discussion with director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille).

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema