Werewolves, silver bullets and the certainty of myth | Simon Hansen

We all know that have we a problem, but what do real solutions look like? And why do we need to start believing in silver bullets.

In March 2020 preproduction on Simon's film, Apophis, was stalled due to the pandemic. The film explores how utilitarian ideology would destroy humanity in the face of a devastating asteroid impact that is predicted by a computer simulation.

The opening lines of Apophis are a voice over: “We named it with our fear. Defied it with our hope. In the end, it was an idea that destroyed us.”

As an early adopter of the digital film process, Simon became expert in CGI, acting as Visual Effects Supervisor on numerous Hollywood films. He worked on District 9 and Chronicle, both of which blended found footage or mock-umentary footage with cutting edge CGI enhancement to produce a novel, heightened reality in cinema.

Simon helped prototype and field test the first RAW cinema camera which was used for Slumdog Millionaire, winning the Oscar for cinematography in 2008.

Being ahead of the techno trend has empowered him as an author of near-fi and sci-fi screenplays, but philosophically he has always had an obsession with where humanity is ultimately headed.

Simon touches on a range of themes in this presentation from propaganda and divide and rule in the algorithmic era, to the living revolution concealed beneath the canopy of lies we have been trained to believe.

“There is a silver bullet and I know how to find it.” Mick Houston.

The Covid event has revealed that it was about more than just public health and the political, economic and societal aspects of the response are of far greater significance than the virus itself. There remains a continued drive toward the transformation of our societies in ways that threaten democracy and our existing ways of life. Open Society Sessions aim to examine the political, societal and economic dimensions of our recent experience and analyse developments in the future.

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