Phase 9

by Souliman Schelfout

France
2022
25 min
French, English
Short film
Color

World Premiere

In Competition 2022

Official synopsis

Pietro struggles at online poker so much that he gives in to the worst idea: he sets up an artificial intelligence supposed to make him unbeatable.

The programmer’s eye

“Are you a robot?”: the most existential of all SF questions has completely penetrated our daily lives. It has become the necessary condition to access a website. Souliman Schelfout mostly exploits a contemporary paranoia in a film lined with screens, avatars and nicknames. A striking game of online poker takes place, the staging of which involves an imaginary conspiracy that is all digital and exploits the fears stemming from algorithms and Internet countercultures. A film of mad singularity, “Phase 9” screams its identity.

Pierre Guidez

Biography and Filmography

Born in Corrèze, Souliman Schelfout studied literature before graduating from the editing department of La Fémis. He has edited more than fifteen films, navigating between fiction, documentary and contemporary art. “Phase 9" (2022) is his first film.

2022 : PHASE 9 (SHORT) - Souliman Schelfout - Director and Screenwriter

Souliman Schelfout

Quentin Dolmaire, Elie Salleron, Grégory Gilles…

Don Quichotte Films, Préludes

Jean Charles Bastion

by Souliman Schelfout

Born in Corrèze, Souliman Schelfout studied literature before graduating from the editing department of La Fémis. He has edited more than fifteen films, navigating between fiction, documentary and contemporary art. “Phase 9" (2022) is his first film.

2022 : PHASE 9 (SHORT) - Souliman Schelfout - Director and Screenwriter