AFRO ALGORITHMS
This 3D animated short film in the Afrofuturist genre explores topics of AI and bias. In a distant future, an artificial intelligence named Aero is inaugurated as the world’s first AI leader. However, she soon finds that important worldviews are missing from her databank, including the stories of the historically marginalized and oppressed.
Awards
CAST
AVA RAIIN
as “Aero”
Called an "audio-diva superhero" by Solange's blog Saint Heron, AVA RAIIN’s self-titled debut album charted #9 on the Billboard R&B album sales chart, ranked highly on 4 other Billboard charts, and debuted #6 R&B and Top 40 all genres on iTunes. Her 2016 single and video ‘Eagle Eye’ premiered on AfroPunk and was named Vimeo ‘Staff Pick’. Raised with her twin sister in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Houston/Willis, Texas, she settled in NYC after completing undergrad at The University of Texas at Austin. Open mics turned into backing vocal gigs across the spectrum including stints with Melissa Etheridge, Solange, Blood Orange/Devonte Hynes, Carly Rae Jepsen, Jack Antonoff/Bleachers, Chrisette Michele and contributions to a handful of recordings most notably Blood Orange’s Freetown Sound and Negro Swan.
ROBIN QUIVERS
as “Miriam”
Robin Ophelia Quivers is an American radio personality, author, and actress, best known for being the long-running news anchor and co-host of The Howard Stern Show. Quivers has been hailed the most popular female radio personality in the U.S. and made her feature film debut in Howard Stern's autobiographical comedy, Private Parts. She graduated with a B.S. in nursing and served as an Airforce nurse before discovering broadcasting. Quivers has received an NAACP award for literary work for her book “The Vegucation of Robin” and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2017.
HOJI FORTUNA
as “Dr. Richard”
Hoji Fortuna is an African actor performing mainly in film and Television. Among the films in which he performed is African Movie Academy Awards winner Viva Riva, BronzeLens winner In The Morning and Sundance and Berlinale selection Afronauts. In TelevisonHojiperformed in ABC Pan Am, BBC Mc Mafia and Netflix Tribes of Europa, among other projects. Afro Algorithms is his second animation performance, along with Anima Mundi Animation winner Another Day of Life.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
Commonly referred to as the lovechild between Black Panther and I, Robot, Afro Algorithms is a short film that explores Afrocentric visions for the future while advocating for a new standard of leadership, the importance of diverse perspectives, how creativity is our greatest superpower, and much more.
While in my senior year at NYU Tisch and in the midst of a global pandemic, I went into a deep dive researching the pros, cons, and controversies of artificial intelligence. I sourced inspiration from books such as Race After Technology by Ruja Benjamin, Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Noble, Artificial Unintelligence by Meredith Broussard, the documentary Coded Bias directed by Shalini Kantayya, and more. I distilled the insights from these studies into Afro Algorithms, with the aim of creating a work of science fiction that at once entertains, enlightens, inspires, and educates.
Whether human beings or machines, we can all learn something from Afro Algorithms. After all, I created this story with the intention of sparking important conversations about race, technology, and where humanity is driving the future of this planet.
- Anatola Araba (Writer, Director, Producer)
SOURCES AND INSPIRATION
Book: Race After Technology written by Ruja Benjamin
Book: Algorithms of Oppression written by Safiya Noble
Book: Artificial Unintelligence written by Meredith Brussard
TED Talk: How I’m Fighting Bias in Algorithms spoken by Joy Bolumnwini
Documentary: Coded Bias directed by Shalini Kantayya