When an internet vigilante develops a revolutionary new computer program to combat online predators, its rapid advancement leads to serious questions of autonomy, oppression, and what it really means to be human.

An A.I. system employing a video image of a young girl, is created to hunt down online predators in child porn. What starts as an independent cause becomes a full-blown government cyber operation, and as the system gains years of information on human behavior, the A.I. also becomes the creator’s daughter-like entity. As it outlives the creator, this A.I. entity keeps on going without getting old, but getting smarter. This triumphant feature debut by a writer-director Franklin Ritch, who also stars as Gareth the creator, The Artifice Girl is an attentive indie sci-fi film using smart dialogues over fancy visuals. Even with its easy pace, the film clearly presents a relevant issue that current society is faced with, and a friendly warning on our dealing with A.I. applications. The acting is superb, led by the tour-de-force work of Tatum Matthews as the A.I. entity, “Cherry”. (Jongsuk Thomas NAM)