For the moment, the video can only be seen here
Fictional
Spark
The initial idea
Spark is the outcome of the Red Bull Futur/io Academy which was held in March 2019 in Lisbon. Twenty-two aspiring visionaries were able to lay out their ideas to shape the future from some 1,000 applications worldwide.
Following the three-day event, Cristian-Alexandru Ioan from Bucharest was selected as the winner with his idea named We All Share the Same Dreams.
The concept was envisaging a world where we can tap into human emotions as a renewable energy source with the prize on offer the chance to turn the idea into a short film.
Cristian explains: “I think we sometimes forget how to be empathetic with one another through social media and it would be nice to see people a little bit more engaged when it comes to feelings and empathy, not always negative ones like hate. This is the main idea behind everything I created.”
The man behind the idea
His idea very nearly never made it to fruition, though. For one, he’s afraid of flying and also has a fear of public speaking, far from ideal when speaking to a crowded auditorium 4,000km away from home. He very nearly decided not to attend Red Bull Futur/io.
The former anthropology student, who also boasts a Masters degree in Media Communication, explains: “We have to become proactive to make the world a better place and minimise our footprint. I began by thinking of human connections. I then tried to take the idea of human technology and how human interconnected activities can actually become energy stations and I truly believe this is doable.”
The film itself
It eventually spawned into the film Spark, set in 2049 at the Emotional Adventure Centre where Chloe, a dancer planning to use that movement to harness energy, visits for the first time and is met by Theo, an emotive engineer whose past trauma has caused him to lose touch with his feelings.
In contrast, Chloe is a ball of energy, which comes from her dermajoule, an energy-monitoring wristband which tracks both positive and negative emotions. She forces Theo to reconnect with his past positive energy, the film ending with the pair dancing – Theo reluctantly initially.
The people involved
The film’s two main stars are British actors Alex Lawther (Theo), whose credits include The Imitation Game and Black Mirror, and Katie Clarkson-Hill (Chloe), who has starred in Gold Digger and Hannah.
Explaining his character, Lawther says: “Theo has suffered some sort of loss and, because of that, is finding it hard to connect in a meaningful way with other people and feel things as deeply as he did before, until Katie’s character comes along and changes that. It’s an imagined wonderful world where people can make energy by connecting with other humans.”
Future Technology
Cristian already has thoughts on technology advances that may be available in the future. Three of these are:
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More personalised tools with filters for different types of information, for different people with different interests, to help us stay connected with the world
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Technology centred on helping humans discover if there really is life on other planets
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Technology that can assist with social equality and inclusion, trying to help the ones in need to feel part of the same reality.
