by Anthony Frajman
Werner Herzog and AI are two topics one would not normally see in the same sentence.
Yet, both are the subject of filmmaker Piotr Winiewicz’s provocative new film, About A Hero, screening at the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) 2025.
Written by an AI named Kaspar, trained in the work of the German filmmaker, the film follows the death of a factory worker, which is investigated by an AI-generated Herzog.
Made with Herzog’s permission (but without involvement), Winiewicz’s film examines trust, our relationship with AI, technology and its limits.
Ahead of the film’s screening at AIDC, we spoke with Winiewicz.
How did About a Hero come about?
“I originally wanted to make a film not about technology, but our relationship to technology. One of the starting points was this quote that opens the film, Herzog claiming that ‘a computer will never make a film as good as mine in 4,500 years’. I think this quote expressed some sort of idea of our relation to technology, our technophobia.
“And, so this is how it came about that it was a Werner Herzog film. I was curious about not technology itself, but how we react to technology. It was about the time that Google introduced Google Compose. That was the first algorithm that was learning from your language and was writing for you. And I remember speaking with somebody, we only communicated by emails, and I realised that those emails were 50% written by an algorithm. I wondered, ‘what does it mean for us? And for the way we communicate?’
“But of course, things change throughout the years. This technology was really primitive at the beginning. By the time that we were shooting, everything was moving so, so rapidly.
“The film asks questions of authorship and originality, but it also looks into the themes of misinformation and disinformation. We’re surrounded by AI, and we have so little time and tools to verify it.”
We understand that you had Herzog’s approval. Were you intimidated by using his likeness in the film?
“Oh yeah, of course. I think it was really important because to some extent, it’s a provocation in terms of hijacking somebody’s likeness and personality. So, of course, it was really important. The law changed a lot, although this has been much slower than the actual development of this technology. But the legal issue was one thing, I think that there was also more of the ethical questions we’ve been asking ourselves. So of course, it was really important for us to communicate with Werner and get his approval.
“When the film was pretty much finished, we showed him final cut, and that was really important. That was a big part of the process. Everybody was engaged.”
What are some of the ethical issues that AI presents?
“Legally speaking, even though the law was being written as the technology was being developed, the moral and ethical issues are just a little bit more fluid when it comes to this issue. I think a documentary, you always have to be concerned about using tools and editing is a tool itself… You can edit somebody’s interview to the point that he will say the opposite of what he actually said. Every filmmaker has this responsibility, because we all understand we have the tools that we can manipulate what people said, their voices, their images… So, I think we just had to consider, what is the collateral damage? The film is aiming to trigger this discussion.”
How important was disclosure of the use of AI to you?
“All the answers are in the film credits. If you patiently look through the credits, we state what voices have been cloned, and which voices are the real thing.
“There was this backdrop to the fictional narrative, but of course, we also wanted to play with that. Sometimes, you’re being tricked. But we try to be transparent. The way the film opens, we wanted to say that this is what it is you’re about to watch.
“We didn’t want to fool anybody, but we wanted to get people to know what it is and what are the rules of the game. It’s like, you’re being invited into this world of confusion, to some extent. In the editing process and editing of the script, I was thinking a lot about Instagram because of the way it’s constructed, it’s sort of a montage and it doesn’t make sense, but it makes sense to us. You have celebrities mixed with your friends and generated images and people breaking chestnuts with their elbow and breaking Guinness records… And it’s not getting better. It’s like the attention span change, but there is this real-life montage that is living.”
Is AI being used increasingly in documentaries?
“Yeah, I think so. There has been some scrutiny – how is AI is being used as a tool to bring somebody’s life and their voice? The morals and issues are not set in stone. So, everybody has their opinion about it, and it’s like, where are the boundaries? We also had to establish those boundaries. But I think it’s being used in documentary film, and people are not even aware how much it’s already present in the film industry.
“I definitely think we should be sceptical about it. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those tools can do things that otherwise would be impossible.”
How is technology and AI changing documentary filmmaking?
“In documentary, you usually use a large volume of material, and it’s material that’s not scripted. There is so much material from the research interviews and all of a sudden, there are tools that can transcribe things. You can search through video and you can find the material that you otherwise would forget. The technology just hits all the dimensions. Documentary filmmakers never had budgets for making serious VFX, it would be impossible or very expensive.
“Often in documentary films, you need to make people anonymous, even though they signed the release forms. All of a sudden, they pull back and you need to change their voice, and you change their face. We used to watch films that either had money to animate and animation is incredibly expensive, or you’ve just been blurring faces and slowing down their voice. But right now, you can create a voice that is not even a copy of a voice. You can create a new voice and it’s not disturbing or destroying your films. You can create a face that also doesn’t exist and give a face to a character.”
In 5, 10 years, where do you see technology going?
“I’m trying not to think about it to be honest (laughs), because it’s moving so fast. Technology is definitely not my passion. I know about technology more than I ever wanted, and how it works, but it was changing from month to month. When we released the film in November, people were asking whether any of the images were real. And we shot all the images, but it’s like we are at the point that people doubt it.”
What reactions have you had to the film so far?
“Meeting with the audience has been quite an experience. The film is fragmented and people saw very different things in it.
“One Q&A, there was just this expression of frustration because there’s maybe not that many answers. The idea of the film was supposed to be reflective and not giving answers. So, there was a lot of great discussion. I think I would like to continue working on films like that.”
What was the biggest thing that you learned from making the film?
“I probably learnt how to make films (laughs). Every detail matters. Every element and every sound and the way people pronounce things.”
About A Hero is screening at ACMI on Saturday March 1, 2025. For more information, click here.
Piotr will also participate in a Spotlight Session, Herzog in the Machine: Piotr Winiewicz and Finding Humanity in an AI-Generated Documentary, on March 2.
