From the invention of the camera as an instrument of truth to today's AI-generated images, Death of a Fantastic Machine shows how economic incentives shaped what is filmed and why. Using collages of historical archive footage, amateur videos, live streaming material and video snippets of adrenaline junkies hanging from the tops of skyscrapers, the film asks the following question: What does it mean to be exposed to the billions of images vying for our attention?
This short film was created after the feature film "And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine", which premiered at the Berlinale in 2023.