On November 26th, 2025, I found myself walking into the ACMI in Melbourne, into a foyer filled artists, technologists, filmmakers, and AI creators from all corners of the country. I didn’t realise the full magnitude of what I was part of until I arrived. But there it was: WILD CARD, my filmmaking debut, shortlisted as a finalist in the inaugural DISRUPT AI Film Festival—the first Gen AI film festival in Australia.
Over 370 entries were submitted from across the nation, and our biopic-style short film, WILD CARD: The Bruce Ryder Story, made it into the top selections in the Long Film category. Produced as an experiment in hyperfiction, this wasn’t a typical writer-director-tool combo. The storyline behind Bruce wasn’t just written and produced by me, it was co-created in real time, shaped by audience feedback, merchandise drops, character responses, and the unfolding lore of Bruce’s retro-verse. This was AI storytelling made with the crowd, not just for it.
DISRUPT’s 2025 theme, Humans and Their Tools, couldn’t have been more aligned. The festival wasn’t about machine domination or fully automated scripts. It celebrated human-in-the-loop creativity, where generative AI becomes the brush, not the painter. A tool, not a takeover.
To have Bruce Ryder’s debut film included in such a future-facing space felt surreal. It was a cinematic nod to everything we’ve all been building in real time. In traditional filmmaking, even in the AI space, the format still follows the classic structure: beginning, middle, and end. The story resolves. But Bruce doesn’t resolve. His world continues in real time. The three-and-a-half-minute film I submitted was simply a snapshot of a larger, living arc. It felt a little offbeat in that context, but it was also a privilege to stand alongside such incredibly polished talent and category winners who brought their own distinct visions to the screen.
Produced by TBWA, the event marked a cultural milestone. And for me, it was confirmation that hyperfiction may have a seat at the cinematic table.
The event would not be complete unless the Golden Man himself made an appearance.