Tom Tykwer’s Berlinale Premiere ‘The Light’ to Get AI-Powered English Dub
Tom Tykwer has long been a filmmaking innovator, and he’ll be pushing boundaries again with his Berlinale opener “The Light,” making its world premiere February 13.
The English-language release for “The Light” will be dubbed into English using the ethical AI company Flawless’s TrueSync technology which seamless fits the translated words to fit actors’ mouth movements — solving a problem for dubbing that until now was all but impossible to fix.
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In an article for the World Economic Forum earlier this year, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland praised Flawless for securing “actors’ explicit informed consent before creating or editing digital replicas of their performances, using its Artistic Rights Treasury (A.R.T.) system to manage rights and ensure compliance.”
Crabtree-Ireland added, “The system will also integrate with standard industry tools such as Avid and Final Cut Pro, making it easier for productions to align with ethical standards. This ensures that actors retain control over their likenesses and are fairly compensated for their contributions, aligning innovation with respect for human talent.”
Internationally, dubbing, more than subtitling, is the standard for presenting films in a country where the primary language is different from that of the film. However, dubbing has never caught on in the U.S., in part due to audience resistance to the audio and actors’ lips and motions being out of sync. This TrueSync technology, honored by TIME magazine as one of its “Best Inventions,” fixes that problem.
Scott Mann and Nick Lynes, Flawless Co-Founders & Co-CEOs, said, “’The Light’ is a masterful film by one of the world’s great filmmakers. We could not be more excited to add it to the list of works we have helped reach new audiences. As Flawless further expands its output, we look forward to continuing to work with industry-leading creatives like Tom, revitalizing the global film industry by responsibly implementing game-changing technology.”
The official logline for “The Light” is: “With an internationally renowned cast featuring Lars Eidinger and Nicolette Krebitz, ‘The Light’ is the story of a middle-class family nearing collapse as it faces an increasingly unstable world. When a mysterious, Syrian housekeeper enters their lives, the family’s secrets and emotions are brought to light, and the housekeeper’s hidden agenda threatens to reshape their world forever.”
Flawless being an artist-driven company may send a message that there is a difference between using AI as a tool (getting mad at AI like this would be like getting mad at Final Cut Pro or ProTools or Avid) and the generative AI that takes power out of artists’ hands.
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