On November 12, 2021, short film semi-finalist at the Oscar-qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival, Synthetic:Sync, will premiere in a screening at the MIT Media Lab.

Synthetic:Sync is a cinematic realization of the concept of synthetic photosynthesis, an idea developed by writer-director Dante Latessa which postulates a new frontier of the human condition arising from the virtual networks of the early 21st century. 

Very recently and rapidly, human beings became accustomed to having significant portions of their lives devoted to a singular communication device. A mere fifteen years ago, the majority of people did not keep a smartphone to have and hold as an extension of themselves. We did not consult it every time we felt lonely, didn’t casually gaze into it whenever convenient nor glance at it when inconvenient, and we especially did not socialize through various media platforms, leading a second life for the entire world to see. But this is the framework within which human beings exist today, creating and curating our lives for other people’s eyes. Just as young sunflowers in a field turn with the sun to gather energy for growth, modern humans are drawn to their devices to obtain dopamine rushes, with the frequency of “likes” we receive from others generating a warped simulation of true feeling. This is a perpetual chase, one which can never be fulfilled as it forgoes looking inward, relying instead on external validation of our own experiences.

The short film centers on a group of artificial humanoids meandering across a lush landscape, screened off from the real world that surrounds them. One, by happenstance, breaks free from the constraints of his own existence and discovers the vast, beautiful field of sunflowers that was always there but never seen. This is the garden primeval, in which our green protagonist portrayed by Davey Dreyer comes face-to-face with the natural world for the first time. The awakened individual’s encounter with nature forces him to also confront the nature of his reality. After experiencing the world for what it is, he travels back to his companions, only to find them still trapped in their virtual cave where he tries to enlighten them, but to no avail.

On a small budget and in a single day of shooting, the short was made by newcomers to filmmaking, led by Synthesis:1 artist collective founder Dante Latessa. It features an original score composed by Don Derek Haddad with editing and special effects by internationally renowned multimedia sculptor and video performance artist, Theresa Silver, a member of the MIT List Visual Arts Center staff. As the debut film for Synthesis:1, Synthetic:Sync reflects the pursuit most relevant to the art team: the fusion of ancient, traditional storytelling and contemporary technology to create the tribal gatherings of the future and depict the synthetic and organic worlds in an abstract way to recall the values of primitive human nature. 

Supporting performances by Jake Armstrong Grade, Trevor Jack Hott, and Brian Joseph Cameron; Technical advising by Jonathan Paul Folsom; Creative consulting by Joseph Dimento; Aerial cinematography by Jovan Tanasijevic and Juan Navarro; Still photography by Colin McGee Kane and Jonathan Paul Folsom.

The image above, created by Dante Latessa, is a three-dimensional model of the process of synthetic photosynthesis that was one of the main inspirations for the short film.

A hyper-realistic painting made by Dante Latessa, acrylic on canvas.