Synthetic Sincerity

Isaacs, M. (Director). (2025). Synthetic Sincerity. Icarus Films. 70 mins. Synthetic Sincerity is a film that encapsulates so much of the reality of what it means to be a filmmaker in the age of AI and exemplifies Werner Herzog’s ecstatic truth where facts take a back seat to exploring a deeper truth by utilizing fiction in documentary to engage an audience with authenticity (whatever that may mean). Herzog famously quotes André Gide, “I modify facts to such a degree that they resemble truth more than reality,” a quote that has not been attributed to Gide outside of Herzog’s quoting it in numerous interviews. Similarly, filmmaker Marc Isaacs and writer Adam Ganz invite the audience into a world that without context and upon first viewing appears to be somewhat of a traditional documentary, only to reveal in the final scenes that all may not have been as was perceived. The facts are modified, fictions are created, to provide the audience with a deeper truth. As I ruminated on the questions the film raises about what it means to be human and how film (or Artificial Intelligence) can capture humanity, and the ethics surrounding both, I couldn’t help but feel the need to try to deconstruct what was “real” and what was “fiction.” Much like Orson Welles’ F for Fake (1973), the point is not to suspend disbelief, as in a fiction, or to be armed with facts to recount, but rather to gain a greater understanding of humanity and the world through cinema. The film opens with an Ingmar Bergman quote, “Film begins with the human face,” which for those who have seen some of Bergman’s iconic films evokes visuals of Liv Ullman and Bibi Anderson in Persona or the face of death (portrayed by Bengt Ekerot) in The Seventh Seal, not the “actor” Tilly Norwood, the two-dimensional artificially generated creation by real life Dutch actress, writer and producer Eline Van der Velden. Nevertheless, the specter of Tilly Norwood can be felt throughout the film. Filmmaker Isaacs, who puts himself on camera as a central character in this meta-documentary, remarks after a series of photographs of people from days gone by, “each day we encounter more and more artificial faces. We are staring deep into the eyes of people who never existed.” The framing of subsequent video images of people raises the question of whether they are real or generated. Are the flaws, lack of symmetry, wrinkles and spots, just a part of the simulacrum that makes us believe they are corporal? Isaacs creates a fictional AI lab, The Synthetic Sincerity Lab, at a fictional University, the University of Southern England (from the credits, presumably filmed at the Royal Holloway University), and enlists his Uyghur neighbor from China, Ablikim Rahman, and a film student of his, Lynn El-Safah, to portray protagonists and be “documentary subjects,” along with several other AI researchers (who work in AI but not in character creation), a provost (who may or may not be an actual provost) and department chair Professor Song (who may or may not be a department chair). In the fiction, Isaacs loans the footage of his documentary characters to the lab so they can create a believable AI character, mirroring the current reality where a plethora of material is being used by those in the technology sector (only without authorial consent). The lines between documenting and constructed fictions are constantly blurred. Nevertheless, the fiction of the film is firmly rooted in reality. The bombings in Lebanon are real. The characters that Isaacs captured for his previous films exist (or existed) as three-dimensional human beings. The generative AI technology the film illustrates is grounded in truth. For instance, the software that is used in character analysis scenes looks similar to Flawless Deep Editor which can now be fully integrated into Avid editing software, a common professional editing platform. The Synthetic Sincerity Lab may not exist as named in the narrative devised by Isaacs and Ganz but there are similar facilities throughout the UK, the US and elsewhere. A human actress, Ilinca Manolache, serves as a blueprint for an AI avatar that provides narration and a kind of Greek-type chorus commenting on Isaacs’ work and rebuking him repeatedly for perceived mistakes. The film culminates in a screening of what we are led to believe is an AI-generated version of Rahman (played by Rahman, not an AI) where he is able to express his political perspective as a Uyghur, “giving a voice to the voiceless,” as El-Safah asserts. Isaacs captures the provost looking particularly upset during the screening, which is one of the few performative moments that doesn’t ring true. The provost appears to be “acting” upset, which is revealed to be the case in subsequent scenes. An online disciplinary hearing is staged with the provost, who is penalizing El-Safah, threatening to revoke her visa, rebuking her for putting the University at risk with the politics of the AI subject and by speaking out against Israel in regard to the war with Lebanon. El-Safah’s emotional state in the hearing, contrary to the provost’s response in the screening, appears grounded and honest. Yet, moments later, the “fiction” is revealed when the provost comes through the door to have tea with El-Safah and to make sure he has not upset her during that prior scene. An additional clue as to the fictional set-up is placed in the hearing itself, not only with the attendance of Isaacs’ AI avatar, but also with the provost asking El-Safah how she would like to be addressed - with her real last name or a fictional one. Isaacs responds “we will change it later,” reminding the audience that manipulation is possible. Synthetic Sincerity highlights ethical dilemmas which may feel unique to AI but that have occurred throughout the history of documentary filmmaking. Robert J. Flaherty’s Nanook of the North (1922), one of the first recognized documentary films credited with bringing the story of Allakariallak (named Nanook by Flaherty) to a non-Indigenous audience, raised questions about exploitation of the main subject, manipulating “truth” by staging moments, and Flaherty’s falsification of characters. Isaacs is very aware of documentary tropes throughout the film, making a nod to the manufactured entrances and interactions of documentary subjects that are contrived by documentarians to give the audience a sense that they are simply watching characters’ lives unfold. In his depiction, we see the director asking for retakes and instructing the subjects on where to go and what to do, and the AI avatar often provides her own commentary. An extended scene with El-Safah heroically walking along the riverbank accompanied by a dramatic score feels long and overwrought until it cuts to Isaacs editing the scene and the AI avatar questioning his cinematic choices and use of a diegetic score. Everything in the film feels well-constructed and deliberate, aware of the organic factors that make cinema visceral while tapping into the intellect through layers of detail. The human face holds enormous power in an image but the question remains at the end of Synthetic Sincerity will that power be harnessed by technology or remain in the realm of humanity? The interplay between human actors and AI creations is constantly at play, leading the viewer to question what creates character and narrative. All of the subjects, those from previous documentary footage and the subjects of Synthetic Sincerity, have stories that are shared with the audience. Those narratives add to the questions of character creation as much as the images of the people. As Rahman “trains” the AI through “performing” emotions, the backstory provided adds validity to what he is feeling - but is it real? Or is it simply something along the lines of the Kuleshov effect where neutral faces are endowed with emotions because of juxtaposed footage? The film ends with a tear rolling down the face of the AI Avatar. Will technological creations be capable of real emotions based on experiences? The film raises many questions and provides an excellent source to stimulate class discussion for a variety of curriculum. Ultimately, the film is about more than the use of AI, it is about the search for truth in cinema and why humans create in the first place, to understand and connect with other human beings. It not only deconstructs AI and the human condition, but also the process of filmmaking, and is highly recommended for courses on documentary, technology, philosophy and ethics - and could also be a valuable asset for a course in theatre, acting and performance.